


Beyond The Wooden Fence

by Ashleyparker2815



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Injury, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Ghosts, Halloween, Haunted Houses, Haunting, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Peter Parker, Non-Graphic Violence, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Platonic Cuddling, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Scared Peter Parker, Scary, Sharing a Bed, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, halloween fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:21:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 33,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27219319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashleyparker2815/pseuds/Ashleyparker2815
Summary: In the house next door to Peter’s and Tony’s new house, there is a mom and dad who lost their eleven year old son.Now, those parents find out Peter moved in next door and they try to get their ghost son to kill Peter so the spirit of the little boy can take his body.Will Tony be able to save his kid?
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 32
Kudos: 60





	1. Hold me when I’m scared

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Halloween fic!! I’ve been wanting to write one of these for soooo long! Last year I planned on doing it but I didn’t and of course this year when I’m extremely busy I decide to write one!! Haha but I’m so sooo happy with how it turned out. I actually wasn’t going to end up finishing it but I got a burst of ideas and finished it:) 
> 
> There are 6 chapters so a chapter will be posted once a day until Halloween for the lead up! Spooky season! 
> 
> Halloween is my favourite time of the year I just love it sooooo much!! 
> 
> Things to know about this fic:  
> -Tony owns Stark industries but he’s not Ironman  
> -he’s still a billionaire  
> -Peter is his biological son and is not Spider-Man  
> -Pepper is Peter’s mother figure but not biologically although she will play a small part in this fic
> 
> Spooky reading:)

“Carry those other boxes in, will you?” Tony pointed to the stack of boxes that he had already taken out of the trunk of the car to make it easier for Peter. 

Peter looked at all the boxes and groaned. “I can’t carry all of these in.” 

With a roll of his eyes, Tony balanced a box with one hand so he could reach into his pocket to grab the house keys out of his pocket. “Obviously not. Just grab what you can carry.” 

Tony was exhausted. 

He spent the last four hours in the car with a miserable Peter although he didn’t blame him for his horrible mood, he was in a bad mood himself but he was the adult so it was his responsibility to not put all of his bad energy onto Peter. 

Even if Peter was currently doing that to him. 

He was going to let it slide. He knew what Peter was going through. He’s been through it before. His parents moved him around the world for the first half of his life. 

Constantly on the go. He would move to a new country and just as he was settling in and made a few friends, they would be packing up their things once again and heading onto the next country. 

Tony wanted it to be different for his son. He didn’t want to give Peter the life he had growing up and wanted consistency for the young boy but that was hard to give… considering the life they lived. 

Running a multibillion dollar company and raising a child was not easy to do. 

Although Tony did it, he was doing it. He had the help but sometimes things are better left to do himself. Such as raising Peter. 

Peter was his kid. Peter was his baby so he didn’t blame Pepper for walking out on them. It was just hard to have the help and now know that he not only lost the love of his life but the women who Peter looked up to as his mother, even if Peter wasn’t biologically Pepper’s son. 

It was going to be a huge adjustment for the two of them, one that wasn’t off to quite a good start. 

Tony walked inside the cold, empty house and waited for Peter to walk in after him before shutting the door with his foot. He looked up at the huge chandelier hanging above their heads and then caught sight of the grand staircase that was visible as soon as you walked into the house. It was actually one of the main reasons why Tony chose to rent this house out for a few months. 

Next to him, Peter dropped the box down by his feet and looked around the house. It was big. Too big. He hadn’t seen any pictures of it so he didn’t know what it looked like until now but as they were pulling up the long driveway to get to the house, Peter could see how big it was. He didn’t like it. 

How could he? 

It wasn’t fair. He left his best friend, his school, his robotic club, Mr. Delmar’s sandwiches and so much more for what? To move into a giant house four hours away from his home in the middle of nowhere. 

Not to mention it was the beginning of October so the leaves were already starting to change colour and it was starting to get really cold outside. He knew that pretty soon it would start to snow and he couldn’t beg his dad to drive him back to Manhattan to see his friends. 

“What do you think?” Peter looked up at his dad. “It doesn’t look much like a house right now… but the movers are coming tomorrow to bring all the furniture.” 

Peter looked down with a shrug. He hated it and he knew his dad knew that. “It’s cold in here. I’m gonna go pick my room.” 

Tony sighed but let Peter go pick out a room while he carried the rest of the boxes into the house that mostly contained their clothes and Peter’s toys. He still owned the Tower in New York which was where he was keeping everything else, valuables and the things he didn’t want to drag all the way out here. 

Peter hated the way the floor creaked when he stepped down on a certain spot. It was scary. He knew the house was old, judging from everything including the smell. 

Ned’s house was old so whenever Peter would go sleepover at his house and woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, the floor always creaked so he always tried his best to tiptoe to make sure he didn’t wake anybody up, only now, he wasn’t at Ned’s house. 

He was in some random house that he had to now call home. 

Peter got to the top of the stairs and started walking down the long hallway that reminded him of a hotel. He got a weird feeling from being at the house but he couldn’t explain it. It was weird. 

Not to mention he was freezing cold. He made his dad blast the car heater in the drive up but now the house was freezing. He wasn’t even sure the house had a heater. It wouldn’t surprise him if it didn’t. 

Peter pushed open a door that led to one of the bedrooms. He slowly walked inside, taking in the architecture. There was a huge ceiling and support wood beams that made the whole room smell a bit muggy. 

Cringing at the smell, Peter walked into the room and over to a broken window to pick apart the glass. It looked like someone had either tried to break in or someone threw a rock at the window.

He backed away from the window but bumped into a small, triangular door that was as high as his waist. It was strange and he’s never seen a door like that before so his curiosity got the better of him. 

Bending down, Peter opened up the door a little bit more and went to feel around for some kind of light switch on the inside of the crawl space but there was a bang from behind him. 

“What are you doing?” 

Peter smacked his head on top of the doorframe and held his hand up to rub at the now pounding spot. He turned his head to see his dad standing in the doorway looking rather annoyed. 

Tony raised his eyebrows at him. “Huh? Didn’t you hear me calling you?” 

Peter stood up fully and rubbed the back of his head as he watched his dad walk over to him and shut the small door. “You shouldn’t be wandering around like this. I don’t know where you are and it’s a big house.” 

“I was just looking around.” Peter let go of the aching spot on his head and let his dad pull him out of the room. “The windows broken, dad. It’s freezing in here.” 

Tony shut the door and tried to see if there was a lock on it but sighed when he didn’t find one. “I know, just… can you stay in one place without getting up to wander around for two seconds? There’s a moving truck coming with some stuff tonight then the rest of the furniture will be delivered tomorrow morning.” 

Peter didn’t really care about any of that. He glanced back at the door once Tony started leading him back down the hallway. What was the point in living in such a big house if he couldn’t at least have some fun and go exploring? 

Tony let go of Peter’s wrist once they got to the main level and walked over to the kitchen. “Can you stay here until the movers finish bringing everything in? I don’t want to have to keep an eye on you and them.” 

Peter rolled his eyes as he climbed up on the kitchen island to sit. “Dad. I’m eleven years old. I’m not a baby, you don’t need to watch me.” 

Tony pulled out his phone to see an alert, letting him know that the truck was driving up the driveway now. He raised his eyebrows at his kid. “Alright. Don’t make me be right. Stay in here until they leave.” 

As Peter watched his dad leave the kitchen, he thought about not listening to the man and doing what he wanted but he really didn’t want to get on his dad's bad side right now. He sighed and laid down on the counter top to wait for the movers to finish moving some furniture into the house. 

He thought about the life he was leaving behind and it saddened him to think of all the fun things he used to do which were all just memories now. It wasn’t fair. He barely had a say in them moving up to the middle of nowhere and if he did have a say, the answer would have definitely been a big no. 

With a groan, Peter sat up and slid off the counter to go find his iPad so he could text Ned or possibly FaceTime him. He knew it was kinda late and that Ned had school the next day but he also knew that his friend liked to stay up past his bedtime most of the time. 

“Dad? Dad? I want my iPad.” Peter leaned against the doorframe to see if he could grab his attention to ask to leave the kitchen. It was a huge house so he had absolutely no idea why he even had to ask. He was positive that he could go upstairs and grab his bag without bumping into any of the movers or his dad. 

With one last look around to see if Tony was anywhere in sight, Peter quickly ran down the hallway to go upstairs but he saw two movers carrying in what looked like a bed frame so he stopped and hid behind the wall. Okay, new plan. 

He turned and went in the direction that he came from but since he hasn’t explored the house yet, he had no idea where he was going and it was very possible that he was about to get lost and then get in huge trouble. 

Peter was surprised to see another set of stairs that weren’t as nice as the one in the front of the house but he decided to see where it would lead him. He ran up the stairs and looked around, trying to see if it was the same floor he had been in before or possibly a whole different side of the house. 

As he began walking down the hallway, he saw two movers walking towards him, both carrying a large box in their arms so he quickly opened up a door and went inside. 

Peter felt around on the wall for a light switch because it was pitch black in there and even though only a handful of people knew, he was terrified of the dark so he wanted to turn the lights on as quickly as he could. 

“C’mon. Where is it?” He mumbled to himself just as he found the switch and didn’t hesitate to turn the lights on. Once he could see, he slowly backed away from the wall and just as he was about to turn around, he bumped into a warm body which had him jumping almost five feet into the air and screaming. “What the heck! Who are you?!” 

It was a man. He was dressed in jeans that looked like they needed a wash. His white shirt looked like it needed a wash as well, in fact, his whole body was covered in dirt and dust. 

Peter immediately backed away from him, wanting to get the hell away from the scary looking man. 

“Sorry kid. I didn’t mean to scare you. Just moving some furniture around.” He answered, eyes narrowing in at Peter with an expression that Peter couldn’t quite make out. All he knew was that it scared him immensely. 

Peter looked around the room but found nothing in there. Not even a box. “But… the rooms empty. And the light was off.” 

The man seemed to snap out of the trance that he was in. His eyes left Peter and he looked around the room with a sigh. “Yeah… the damn lights shut off on me while I was doing some measurements. It’s an old house, you know. Lots of secret spots.” 

Peter nodded. He was starting to feel more comfortable since that did make a lot of sense now. The man wasn’t just dressed in dirty clothes and standing in a dark room. He chuckled lightly and ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah. I didn’t get a chance to explore the house just yet. Me and my dad just moved here.” 

The man’s eyes were narrowing in on him again, in that freaky, trance like way that scared the shit out of Peter. “I um, I should get back to my dad now…” 

“Why? Don’t you want me to show you around?” 

A shiver ran through Peter’s body. He went to turn around to leave but the door was being slammed open. “Peter. Oh my god.” 

Peter immediately ran into his dad’s arms and let himself feel safe, wrapped up in his most favourite place in the entire world. Tony ran a hand through his curls and looked at the man in the room. “Hey, who’re you?” 

The man grabbed a tape measure and started measuring the window frames. “Just measuring the rooms for window adjustments. The winters get super cold up here.” 

Tony nodded then pulled Peter out of the room with him. “Alright. Let’s go back downstairs.” Once he was out of earshot from the guy, Tony spoke. “That guy gives me the creeps. He looks like that clown from that one scary movie you wanted to watch.” 

Peter was scared just thinking about that movie. He saw the connection though. 

“I ended up being right about it too. You ended up sleeping with me for a month.” Tony playfully ruffled Peter’s curls and opened up the fridge to grab a water bottle. 

“Hey, that movie was targeted towards kids. Hello, I’m a kid. If Pennywise was going to take anyone away, it would be me.” Peter argued to the best of his ability. He knew he was right, he was also a little freaked out now, being in a new house and all. Plus he really missed Pepper and was having some sort of mild separation anxiety from her right now. 

He just felt… off. 

Tony chugged half of the water bottle and leaned against the counter, reaching over to brush some curls off of Peter’s face. “Hey. How about we go check out upstairs while the movers finish up and then we’ll head to bed? Tomorrow’s a busy day because we have to decorate the whole house and make it feel like home.” 

Peter yawned which was followed by a frown. “This isn’t home, dad. It doesn’t feel like home yet we’re moving in.” 

With a sigh, Tony started to lead Peter upstairs. “I know, bud, but soon it will. We just need to give it some time. Create some nice memories together. Doesn’t that sound nice?” 

“I guess.” 

.  
.  
.

About an hour later, everything was moved into the house and Peter was more than ready for bedtime. 

Him and his dad had picked out their bedrooms together. Tony took the master bedroom which was at the very end of the hallway and Peter wanted to pick the bedroom closet to his dad’s but the only closet he could get was four doors down. That was too far in his opinion but he was eleven. He shouldn’t need his dad to comfort him anymore. He was too old for that. 

Tony shut the front door and locked it after the last of the movers had left. It was way past nine at night and he was exhausted. 

“Alright, kid. Go hop in the shower and get ready for bed while I place some blankets onto your bed.” Tony told Peter as he shut all the lights off downstairs but stopped to look at Peter who still hadn’t moved from his spot on the stair landing. Tony smiled fondly, knowing exactly what Peter was waiting for. “Alright, bud. Let’s go. I’m right behind you.” 

Once Tony started walking up the stairs, Peter was quick to make a move. 

The house was humongous, way too big for just the two of them, so big that Peter even had bathroom options to choose from. He picked the one that would be his, the one across from his bedroom. 

“I’ll see you soon. Call me if you need anything.” Tony told him before Peter walked away from him to grab the things he needed for his shower. 

Peter walked into his new bedroom and looked around. It was cold and empty with nothing but one bed in the middle of the room. He knew more furniture was going to be arriving tomorrow but he still didn’t like it. He didn’t get good vibes from his bedroom, or the house for that matter. 

Peter ignored those feelings for now and walked over to his suitcase that someone thankfully had brought up for him so he kneeled down and pulled out his pyjamas, body wash, toothbrush and toothpaste then stood up to go into the bathroom. 

Even the bathroom was freezing so Peter hoped so badly that the hot water worked. 

After taking off all of his clothes, he turned on the shower, struggling a bit with how to actually get it on. Ned’s shower at his house had the same problem, that’s why Peter hated showering there. He felt sad thinking about that because maybe he might never sleep over at his friends house again. 

“Turn on. C’mon.” Peter smacked the shower handle out of annoyance. It wasn’t turning on and just as he was about to call his dad to come help him, the water started coming out so Peter turned it to the right temperature and stepped in. 

He relaxed at the warm water hitting his skin then reached for the bottle of body wash that he put on the floor of the shower. 

With closed eyes, Peter bent down and reached around for the bottle. He didn’t want to open his eyes and have all the water go into them so he kept his eyes shut. Peter began to pour the soap out but just as he went to rub it on his body, he felt the water turn cold. 

Peter jumped back from the freezing cold water with a Yelp and shot his eyes open. His jaw immediately started to chatter but it was way too far to turn the cold water off. There was no way around it so he just had to sike himself up to quickly reach over for the hot water but right as he was about to do that, the lights went out, leaving him in the dark with freezing cold water splashing on his skin. 

He shivered violently but now more out of fear from the dark than the cold water. “Hello? Dad? That’s not funny.” Peter sunk to the shower floor and pulled his knees to his chest. He knew his dad wouldn’t turn the lights off on him, why would he since he was well aware of Peter’s fear. 

“Dad?! Dad, help!” Peter yelled for his dad to come rescue him. He didn’t know if he was crying or if it was just the cold water splashing on his face. Maybe a mixture of both. 

Peter didn’t have to wait long before the door was being shoved open and the light from the hallway immediately lit up the bathroom. “Peter, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” 

Tony tried to turn the light on but it was completely dead. He then opened up the shower door, eyes looking down at his son who was shivering on the shower floor with ice cold water splashing down on him. “That’s freezing, Pete. Oh my god. Come here.” 

Tony made quick work of shutting the water off and holding out a warm towel to wrap it around Peter and pull him against his chest. “The light bulb and the hot water must have given out at the same time.” Tony explained as he rubbed a hand up and down Peter’s back. “We’ll get it fixed tomorrow, okay? How about you go change into your pyjamas and I’ll be there to tuck you in in a few minutes?” 

Peter didn’t want to leave the safety and warmth of his dad's arms but he didn’t want to seem like a baby so he gave a slight nod, slowly pulling away from his dad to grab his pyjamas and walk across the hallway into his new bedroom. 

New bedroom. He hated the way that sounded. 

This wasn’t their new house and this definitely wasn’t his new bedroom. 

Peter already hated it here. He quickly dropped his towel and put on his pyjamas in record speed before jumping into his bed. 

As he waited for his dad to come tuck him in, he stared up at the ceiling and thought about what his life was like just a few days ago. He was so happy, he had just started school, he made a couple of new friends and his and Ned’s friendship was better than ever. 

But now, everything has changed. 

He hated change. It sucked. 

Tony walked into his bedroom and placed a small present on top of his lap so Peter sat up to look at it. “Is this for me?” 

“Yeah, open it.” Tony smiled fondly and watched with gentle eyes as Peter ever so carefully started to open up the present, tearing open the blue wrapping paper to reveal a Polaroid camera. 

“No way?! Are you serious? Oh my gosh! Thank you, dad!” Peter jumped up and threw himself into his dad’s arms. “Thank you so much. I love it so much, thank you thank you thank you!” 

“Of course, bud. I know this move hasn’t been easy for you and I know how much you’re sacrificing for us so it’s just something small.” If there was one thing Tony loved about Peter, among many other things, was that Peter was always so happy and appreciative of the little things in life. No matter what. He didn’t know how he got so lucky to have Peter as his son, but he wouldn’t change him for anything in the world. Ever. 

Peter pulled away from Tony to examine the box. He had always wanted one of these, after seeing the pictures that Pepper had up in her office from many years ago with her and her friends. Plus he had a natural talent and love for taking pictures. 

Since he didn’t have a phone, he usually took all his pictures on his iPad or his dad’s phone so he was happy to finally have a camera of his own. 

Tony gently took the box from Peter and set it on the floor. “I know you’re excited, but it’s time to sleep so shut those beautiful brown eyes of yours and I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Bright and early.” 

Peter giggled. He let his father push his head onto the pillow and smiled up at him. “Not bright and early. Late and dark.” 

Tony shook his head fondly at his child. “Whatever helps you fall asleep. Give me a kiss.” 

Peter moved his head to the side so his dad could press a kiss onto his cheek which he immediately wiped off. 

“I love you, Petey pie. Sleep good and call me if you need me.” Tony stood up and moved to the door. Peter felt all the warmth and comfort leave his body and be replaced by fear and anxiety. 

When Tony went to shut the light off, Peter sat up and shot his hand out. “Wait! I mean, um… can you leave the light on?” 

Tony hesitated. “Peter, it looks like a baseball diamond with the lights on.” Tony looked at his son's face, he knew he had always been terrified of the dark. As Peter got older, he expected his fear to go away but it didn’t. If anything, it actually seemed to be getting worse. “How about I leave the light in the hallway on and leave your door open a crack?” 

Peter thought about it. He would prefer a brighter light but it was better than nothing. “Okay. Just… can I’ve another hug?” 

Tony didn’t hesitate to give his son a quick cuddle and then just like that, he was gone. Leaving Peter alone in the dimly lit room. 

Peter pulled the blankets around his head and faced towards his door, towards the light. He tried to think of happy memories like when him, his dad and Pepper went to the beach that one day, only for it to be absolutely freezing so they left almost immediately after and went out for pizza and ice cream. 

That was a fun day. Peter missed that. He misses the small but beautiful family they were. 

He pulled the blankets tighter around himself when he felt his eyes drifting shut. He didn’t want to fall asleep yet. He needed to stay awake. 

Peter rubbed at his eyes but without having any more control, he felt himself start to drift off. 

That was until he heard the hallway floor creak. He sat up quickly and looked towards his bedroom door but instead of seeing the light, it was pitch black. Peter whimpered loudly and threw the blankets over his head, curling into a ball. 

“Dad.” He whispered, hoping that his dad had just accidentally shut the light off on his way to his bedroom. “Dad?” He called out a little louder but nothing. 

Peter whimpered. 

He didn’t want to be by himself anymore, he couldn’t. Peter tried to remove the blankets from his head but he was too scared to so he started counting, something Pepper taught him to do whenever he became overwhelmed with fear. 

“One.” Take a breath and hold it in. 

“Two.” Let the breath out and open my eyes. 

“Three.” Take in my surroundings. 

“Four.” Nothing is here to hurt me. Monsters aren’t real. 

“Five.” Everything is okay. 

Although everything was definitely not okay. He tried to count again. And Again but it wasn’t helping him this time. He wanted his dad. He needed his dad. 

“Dad? Dad?! Dad!” Peter was too afraid to remove the blankets from over his head so he waited until he heard the footsteps of his dad, leading to his bedroom. He heard a loud bang coming from his closet just before his bedroom door was being opened and his light was being turned on. 

“Peter. I’m here. It’s okay.” Tony sat down on the bed and pulled the blankets off of Peter’s head. He was all too familiar with these nights and knew exactly how they ended. “Why did you shut your bedroom door, buddy? I kept it open halfway for you.” 

Peter looked up at his dad and tried to calm down. He was already feeling so much better with having his dad with him. “I didn’t. And the hallway light burnt out too. Just like the bathroom.” 

“Another thing to add to the list.” Tony mumbled. He didn’t actually realize just how much work this house needed. 

Peter rubbed at his eyes and yawned. “Can I sleep with you tonight?” 

Tony wasn’t going to say no to him. The truth was that he would feel better if Peter slept with him anyways. He wanted to keep his kid close to him. “Of course. Sleep over it is then.” 

When Tony stood up, Peter only sat up and raised his arms up. “Carry me please. I’m still tired and the floor is cold.” 

With a shake of the head, Tony lifted Peter into his arms. “You’re lucky you’re cute. Don’t get used to this you lazy bum.” 

Peter just smiled and laid his head on his dad's shoulder as he was carried out of his bedroom and down the hallway. Tony stopped at the hallway light switch and went to turn it off to check the lights but it was already off. So when he went to turn it on, the lights came on, just like how they were before. 

“Huh? Did you turn them off, Pete?” Tony asked him, not understanding why Peter would leave his room to turn off the hallway lights that he specifically asked for to stay on. 

Peter lifted his head off of his shoulder and shook his head. “No.” 

“It’s fine. I’ll look into it tomorrow.” Tony shut the lights back off and continued to carry Peter down the hallway and into his bedroom. He thought about the light switch and how weird that was. He must have turned off another light that was somehow connected to the hallway light, although that didn’t explain how the light switch was in a different position. Maybe he didn’t even end up turning them on? 

He was too tired. 

When he got into his bedroom, he shut the door and shut the light off then walked over to his bed, gently laying Peter down on it. “Get some sleep, bud. I’m right here.” 

Peter turned to face him once he laid down. He wanted to go to sleep but his mind was racing 100 miles an hour. “Dad?” 

“Mm?” 

Peter turned onto his side. “I miss Pepper.” 

Just those three simple words had Tony’s heart shattering. He turned to face Peter, only able to make out half of his face in the dark. “I miss her too, baby.” 

Peter sighed, turning onto his back to look up at the ceiling. “Do you think you guys will get back together so we can be a family again? I really miss our movie nights and everything else.” 

Tony reached over to rub Peter’s belly. “I don’t know, bud. It’s really hard to say.” He paused. “I think… if two people are supposed to end up together then they will. Sometimes that takes time.” 

Peter yawned and turned on his side again to swing an arm over his dad’s stomach. “I hope it doesn’t take too long. I miss her.”


	2. Can this love last?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boo! 
> 
> I got home from work and I’m exhausted omg is anyone else just so exhausted and feel so drained? Anyways I’m soooo happy that you guys liked the last chapter:) it made me so happy 
> 
> Spooky readings:)

Peter sat on top of the stairs and put his legs through the railing to snap a bunch of pictures. The sun was shining through the front door and the windows at the front of the house, making it excellent lighting for taking pictures. 

He caught sight of his dad walking into the house so he made sure to get a good picture of him before standing up and running down the stairs to go show him. As he was running down the stairs, he wasn’t looking where he was going and bumped into one of the movers. 

“Oops. Sorry.” Peter looked up at the man and gave him a weak smile. He went to go look for his dad but he was just gone. 

“Hey, kid. You alright?” The man asked, holding Peter by the arm. 

Peter frowned. Now he had to go search the giant house for his dad. “Yeah. I’m fine.” 

“You look pretty bored. I saw another little boy about your age across the stream just over there. Maybe go say hi.” The man turned and pointed towards the side of the house, just before the forest. 

Peter hesitated since he knew he wasn’t allowed to leave the house without his dad’s permission. Although it was day time and the more he considered it, the more he thought about doing it. 

There were movers all around the house anyways so he couldn’t exactly have his own space and he was told to not get in their way. 

Without another thought, Peter took off and left outside to go find the boy across the stream. He had his camera in one hand and was wearing his new running shoes which were now completely destroyed from all the mud and wet grass that he was walking through. 

As Peter got closer to the stream, he could see the little boy in the distance so he quickly started to walk faster towards him, stopping a few feet away from the boy. 

“Hi.” Peter said, clearing his throat awkwardly when the boy just looked up at him. “Um, I’m Peter. Me and my dad just moved in next door.” 

A huge smile was appearing on the boy's face. “Oh. Hi Peter. I’m Oliver. I live just through that forest right over there.” 

Peter smiled and stepped closer to the boy. “That’s cool. Do you have any brothers or sisters?” 

“No. It’s just me, my mom and my dad. And my dog but he ran away last week.” A frown appeared on the boys face when he said that last part. Peter felt bad, he’s never had a pet before, well, besides for his pet goldfish that he won at the fair, and he knew how sad he was when he had to flush him. 

“Hopefully he’ll come back home. Maybe he’s just lost.” Peter squatted down and picked up a stick to start poking the ground like the boy was. “I’m an only child too. Sometimes it’s better than others. Because it means we get all of our parents attention.” He grinned at that. He loved having all of Tony’s and Pepper’s attention and wouldn’t want to have to share that with anyone. 

That got the boy laughing. “Yeah. Especially movie nights. Those are always the best. Hey, you should come over to my house for movie night tonight. I get to pick and I’m picking Star Wars.” 

“No way.” Peter felt his whole face lighting up. “I love Star Wars. Once my room is set up and everything, you should come over to see it.” 

“Yeah! I’ll have to ask my mom and dad first.” 

Peter nodded and continued to stab the stick into the ground until Oliver spoke up. “That’s a cool camera. Who gave it to you?” 

“Oh. Thank you. My dad got it for me after we moved. Wanna see some of the pictures I’ve been taking?” Peter pulled out all of the polaroids from his pocket to show his new friend. “This one here is my dad.” 

When the boy held his hand out, reaching for the pictures, Peter caught sight of his hand. “What happened? You’re hurt.” 

The boy quickly pulled his hand against his chest and held it there protectively. “I’m fine. I just got burnt… when I was younger.” 

Peter suddenly felt bad for his reaction. His dad always told him he had no filter and that was a good and a bad thing. “Oh. Well, I hope it doesn’t hurt you now. Wanna look at my pictures now?” 

The boy smiled with a nod then took the picture of Tony first to look at it. “He looks like he’s really nice and funny.” 

“Yeah, he’s my best friend ever.” Peter was fine without Pepper, he missed her like crazy but he would be okay. He wouldn’t last a second without his dad on this move. He would go crazy with worry. 

“Well… maybe I can meet him soon.” 

“I can go ask if-” 

“Peter?” 

Peter shot his head back to see his dad walking towards him and he did not look happy. He was suddenly regretting leaving the house without asking or at least telling his father where he was going. 

“Yeah?” 

Tony held his shoulders up in the universal sign for shrugging. “What did I say? I specifically told you not to leave the house and what did you do, you left the house.” 

Peter stood up and looked at the ground. He knew he was in trouble. “I know. Sorry.” 

Tony pulled Peter against his side. “I know. Just please ask me next time. Especially since we both don't know the area all that well yet.” Peter nodded against his side. 

“I will. I just, one of the movers said they saw a boy out here so I wanted to come say hi so I could make a new friend.” Peter explained to his dad. 

“Yeah? Well how about you introduce me to him next time?” He suggested but Peter was pulling away from him and turning around. 

“I’ll just introduce you to him right now. He’s right over there-” Peter pointed to the tall grass by the stream but there was nobody there. “Oliver? Where’d he go?” 

Tony looked around. He didn’t see any boys and he hadn’t seen Peter talking to anyone when he was walking over there. “Well… maybe he’s gone home because it’s almost dinner time.” 

Peter looked at the ground and saw his polaroids so he bent down to pick them up, wiping the dirt off. 

“I was thinking we could drive into town to grab a bite to eat and do some grocery shopping? Sound good? The kitchen is empty so you actually don’t have much of a choice.” Tony winked at his kid, noticing him looking around for someone. He didn’t think there was actually a boy out here, Tony wasn’t even sure there were any houses around for that matter. 

.  
.  
.

“Peter, can you bring up the box by the front door on your way up?” Tony called from the upstairs hallway, not evening knowing if Peter could hear him from where he was in the house. 

They got home from grocery shopping and eating dinner in some quiet fancy diner that was absolutely delicious and they definitely planned on going back again sometime soon. 

Now, it was late at night but there were just a few things that had to be put away. Tony wanted to make sure that they had most if not everything out where it was supposed to be so they could finally settle into their new life. 

He didn’t want to have to push unpacked boxes out of the way for the next month and a half. Things needed to be done now and he was so relieved that everything was done. 

Peter poured himself a glass of water in the kitchen, trying his best not to spill the heavy glass. 

He picked his glass of water up in one hand and grabbed his polaroid pictures from today with his other hand. His plan was to relax on his dad’s bed and hope that he was allowed to spend the night in there again. 

Even though his bedroom was all set up with curtains, an area carpet, two nightstand tables and a dresser, as well as the little personal things that he picked out like a lamp and some toys to put in his room, he still didn’t want to spend the night in there alone. 

At least not yet. Maybe not ever. 

The house was too big and scary at night, also a little bit in the day. 

He walked up the stairs, careful not to spill his cup, and walked straight into his dad’s bedroom. “Didn’t you hear me?” Tony asked him as he folded some clothes on the bed. Peter shook his head. “It’s fine. I just needed you to bring up the box by the front door.” 

Peter stopped. “Oh.” He was too lazy to go back downstairs now. 

“It’s fine, bud. I have to turn off all the lights anyways so I’ll go do it later.” Tony put the basket of the clean clothes onto the floor and laid down on the bed with a groan. “I’m so tired. Are you?” 

Peter shrugged. That depended on a lot. “Not really. Can I show you my pictures that I took today?” 

“Let me see them, my little photographer.” Tony sat up to lay against the headboard that he actually had now. Sleeping on just a mattress was surprisingly really comfortable but he wanted to sleep on an actual bed now. 

Peter grabbed the pile of pictures and started to show Tony, explaining each picture and the story behind it. When he got to the last picture, he looked around the bed for the missing picture that he took of his dad and was excited to show him but it wasn’t there. 

“They are amazing, Pete. You’re so talented. Obviously you get that from me, because I’m so talented.” Tony teased him but Peter wasn’t paying attention to him. “What?” 

“I can’t find one of the pictures. I took it of you today and-and I wanted to show you but now it’s gone.” Peter got off the bed to lift the blankets up, thinking that it somehow got under there. 

“It’s okay, Pete. I’m sure it was an amazing picture.” Tony didn’t feel like doing this tonight. He was exhausted and didn’t want to have to help Peter search the whole house for the lost picture. 

“I wanted to show you.” He sighed sadly but then his eyes were widening as he remembered something. “Oh! I think I left it by the stream. Can we go look quickly? Please.” 

“Peter. It’s pitch black outside and it’s already past your bedtime.” 

Peter gave him his puppy dog eyes, knowing it was going to work. It always did. “Please. We’ll be quick and bring a flashlight.” 

Tony shook his head. “We don’t have a flashlight.” 

“That’s okay. We’ll use your phone light. Let’s go.” Peter reached over to grab onto his dad’s hand to pull him off the bed. It wasn’t that far from the house anyways so they could be back in less than five minutes. 

“You’re lucky I love you. Let’s make this quick.” 

The two of them left the house, going outside into the cold, dark night. Peter walked ahead of his dad, holding the flashlight to see where he was going. It wasn’t like they could see anything at all since there weren’t any street lights or anything to light up the property. 

The only light was coming from the flashlight on the phone and the house light from the door. Tony just wanted to get this over with. “It’s not here, Pete. Let’s go back.” 

Peter continued walking. “I want to make sure.” 

He continued to walk towards the stream since that was where he last saw it. “Make sure you don’t fall in the water. I don’t feel like jumping in to get you out.” 

Peter didn’t answer him since he made it to the spot he was at before. He began looking around, even getting on his hands and knees to find the picture. 

“Okay, off the ground. It’s not here, Pete. It probably blew away in the wind.” Tony shivered on the spot. He looked around and looked towards the dark forest but through the fallen leaves, he could see lights on in a house. “Didn’t you say your friend lived through the forest?” 

Peter stood up and looked in the opposite direction, seeing a house through the leaves. It looked pretty far but not far enough to not be able to see it. “I guess that’s his house.” 

Tony turned around because he suddenly felt like they were being watched by someone close by and he did not like that feeling one bit. Especially with his young son around. “Come, Pete, the picture is gone. Let’s get back into the house.” 

“Aw. It was such a good picture. I was going to frame it on the fridge.” Peter let his dad pull him into the house. 

Maybe he could back out the next day to look for the picture and possibly see his new friend again. 

.  
.  
.

Tony sat on the kitchen stool, early in the morning. 

He didn’t get much sleep last night between Peter coming into his bed shortly after he put the kid to bed and then Peter kicking him and practically sleeping on his face throughout the night. It wasn’t fun. 

After a restless night, he decided to finally get up and start the day but wanted to let Peter sleep in as much as possible. He sat with a coffee mug in one hand with now cold coffee and his phone in the other hand, open to Pepper’s contact. 

He wanted to call her. 

It was crazy how much he missed her, so much that he was actually starting to regret this move just a bit. It hadn’t even been three full days yet and he already missed the tower and their penthouse. 

He knew him and Peter could move back whenever they wanted but this move, all the way up here, was supposed to be good for them. It was supposed to be a fresh start. 

He wanted this to work. 

He also really missed Pepper and the life they used to have together so he pressed on her contact to call her, hoping she was going to pick up even if it was extremely early in the morning. 

Surprisingly, Pepper picked up on the third ring. “Is everything okay, Tony?” 

Tony put his head in his hands. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t it be?” 

“Because you’re calling me.” Pepper had said then the line went quiet for a few long seconds, Tony thought that she hung up but then she was speaking again. “Is Peter okay? Where is he?” 

Tony looked over to check the time on the stove seeing that it wasn’t even 7am yet. Peter usually slept in till at least 9:30. “He’s still sleeping. I just wanted to hear your voice.” 

“Alright, well… I actually have a lot to get done today, Tony, so I don’t have any time to talk right now.” 

“Yep. I thought so.” Tony played with the promise ring that he still kept on his finger. He knew he should be taking it off, it didn’t mean anything anymore but he didn’t want to take it off. Part of him still hoped that Pepper wasn’t leaving their life forever. 

“Can you tell Peter to give me a call after he wakes up? I want to talk to him.” Pepper sounded sad. Tony knew her better than anyone, not better than he knew Peter but he was still really good at reading her. 

“Yeah, he’d love to talk with you. He misses you.” He admitted, knowing that Peter was going to be so excited to hear from his mother figure. 

“Alright. I’ll talk with you later.” 

“Before you go, I just wanted to-” 

Tony was cut off by the doorbell ringing. He mentally cursed at being interrupted by the doorbell since he didn’t know when he was going to be able to talk with Pepper again. “Wait. Someone’s at the door.” He began walking towards the door. “Who the fuck is ringing the doorbell this early in the morning?” 

“Tony, I really have to go.” Pepper said and before Tony could stop her, the call was ending. He groaned just before shoving his phone into his pocket and opening up the front door. 

“Yes? Can I help you?” He asked, looking the older lady up and down, noticing the tray she had in her hands. He really hoped it was not food for him. He knew it was a kind thing to do, but he hated it. Why would he want to eat what a random person made for him? Who knows if they even washed their hands or didn’t add in their own little special ingredients of boogers and hair. 

“Hello. My name is Anne. I live down the street from you and I know that this house has been on the market for some time now, I didn’t think it would ever sell after what happened next door. Then I see the for sale sign and so I just thought I would come to give you a little welcome gift.” The older lady, she must have been about sixty, lifted up the tray to show Tony. 

Tony didn’t understand why she had to come so early in the morning. Who does that? “Oh, uh, thank you. You didn’t have to do that.” 

Before Tony had the chance to stop her, she was pushing past him and walking into the house. “It sure is cold out there. I’ll just set this down in your kitchen.” 

Tony was stunned. 

He didn’t even know this woman and she was pushing her way into his house where his kid was upstairs sleeping. He shut the door and locked it so no more randoms decided to take up residency in his house while he went to deal with the current random. 

“Thank you so much for this. I’ll walk you out.” When he went to walk towards the front door again, the lady, Anne, was putting her hands on her hip and looking up at the ceiling. 

“You have such a beautiful house. Hey, tell me something, have you had any visitors lately?” She asked, whispering the word visitors as if it were a swear word and there were children around. 

He crossed his arms and looked at her, having no idea what she was trying to say. “You’re the first. We just moved here a few days ago so we hadn’t exactly gotten the chance to make friends.” 

Her eyes were lighting up at that. “We? Do you have any children?” 

Tony was getting weird vibes from this older lady, starting with her showing up at his house at seven in the morning. Something that should’ve been done a whole twelve hours later. 

“Yeah, I’ve got one son. He’s still sleeping and we got a busy day so we’ll see you another time-” 

“Dad?” 

Tony mentally cursed. He really didn’t want Peter to be waking up right now. Of course, when he doesn’t want Peter to wake up, he does and when he’s trying everything to get Peter to wake up and get ready for school, he refuses. 

“I’ll be up in a minute, bud. Just stay upstairs.” Tony called out to him but he knew Peter was already down the stairs and his curiosity was going to get the better of him. 

Both him and the lady turned towards the entrance to see Peter walking in with his hair sticking up at every angle and his bear held tightly against his chest. 

“Hello there. What’s your name, honey?” Anne asked, stepping closer to Peter but Peter was turning away from her and going to wrap his arms around his dad. “Oh. He’s shy. How old is he?” 

Tony rubbed Peter’s back, really wishing Peter could have just stayed upstairs since it was obvious that the lady had a liking towards his kid. “He’s eleven. Would you like us to walk you out together? We have a busy day today.” 

“Eleven? Such an amazing age, isn’t it? So much innocence. My grandson is eleven as well. Perhaps they should meet sometime.” Anne smiled down at Peter just as he poked his eye out to look at her. 

“Maybe one day. Anyways, thank you so much for the food. We’ll see you around.” Tony pried Peter off of him so he could walk Anne out, grateful that she was actually making her way out of the house this time, after so many attempts. 

Peter stood in the entrance of the kitchen and wrapped his arms around his bear, looking at his dad. “Who’s that?” 

“I don’t even know. Some nosy neighbour named Anne.” He rubbed his eyes and walked past Peter, going into the kitchen to make himself another coffee and Peter some breakfast. “Waffles or pancakes?” 

“Waffles. Why was she here so early though?” Peter asked as he climbed onto the bar stool to sit, placing his bear on the table next to him. 

“I don’t know. She pushed her way into the house, Pete. Who does that?” Tony looked over at Peter who was laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. 

.  
.  
.

Peter sat down in the mud, knowing his dad was going to get mad at him for getting his clothes dirty but he didn’t care.

He decided to go out and look for the polaroid picture of his dad out in the daylight but after searching and no luck, he grabbed his camera and started to take more photos. He thought that he was getting pretty good at it, finding the right angle and getting the lighting perfect was hard but it was a work in progress and he loved to practice it. 

Peter was sitting in the mud and trying to take a picture of the house but even from his distance, he was having a hard time trying to get the whole house in the picture. 

As he waited for the Polaroid to come out, he didn’t notice Oliver walking up to him, seeming to come out of nowhere. “Hi Peter.” 

“Oh. You scared me.” Peter dropped his picture on the ground and as he went to reach down to pick it up, Oliver beat him to it. 

“This is a good picture. I like it.” Oliver handed the picture back to Peter then sat down next to him, not worried about the mud he was definitely getting on his pants as well. “Did you ask your dad if you can come over to my house? I want you to meet my parents. They want to meet you so badly and see exactly what you look like.” 

Peter looked up towards the forest where he saw the lights on last night. “Not yet. My dad probably won’t let me anyways. He would want to meet your parents first.” 

“Okay. Let’s go see if he can meet them right now. Let’s go.” Oliver went to stand up and reach for Peter’s hand but Peter pulled away. He didn’t feel like doing that right now since he just wanted to take some pictures to possibly hang them up. 

“Not right now. I’m busy. Maybe after lunch. I think I’m going out with my dad soon anyways… so I’m probably gonna get in trouble for getting my pants dirty.” Peter laughed and looked up at Oliver who was staring down at him with dark eyes and his mouth slightly open, sending a shiver up Peter’s spine. “What? Why are you looking at me like that, Oliver?” 

As if saying his name had Oliver snapping out of it, he started speaking. “You’re allowed to leave? Like leave your house and beyond the wooden fence?” 

Peter nodded, standing up to go back home since the boy was starting to freak him out a bit. “Yeah? I left yesterday to get a burger with my dad.” 

Oliver was staring at him and Peter noticed that it looked like he had no life in his eyes. He looked… empty. 

“I wanna leave again. I’m not… allowed to leave anymore.” 

Peter frowned. He couldn’t imagine not being allowed to leave his house and the property. That sounds like some sort of abuse. “Why not? Do you parents not let you go beyond the wooden fence? It’s not that far from here, look, I can see it through the trees.” 

Oliver was slowly backing away from him. “I have to go now, Peter. I’ll see you later.” 

Peter waved bye to his new friend and started walking back towards the house. He couldn’t imagine never ever being allowed to leave like that. He also didn’t know why parents wouldn’t allow their children to have their own freedom and go past the fence, it was unreal. 

As he was walking towards the house, he saw his dad standing out front with his phone in his hand and talking into it so he sped up his pace to see who his dad was talking to since he had an idea. 

“Here he is now.” Tony said then flipped the camera to show Pepper Peter who was running towards him. “Pete, Pepper is on video call to talk with you.” 

Peter put his camera under his arm to take the phone from Tony but he was holding it back once he saw the state of Peter’s pants and shoes. “Were you rolling in mud? What happened?” 

The eleven year old shrugged and pointed towards the tree he was sitting under. “I was taking pictures with Oliver.” 

Tony looked over towards the tree to try and spot the boy that he had yet to see but Peter seemed to be seeing a lot. “Oliver was there?” Peter nodded. “Where is he now?” 

Peter shrugged again. His pants were starting to itch his legs and he wanted to change. “He went back home. Can I talk to Pepper now?” 

Tony tried to catch sight of the boy but he couldn’t see anyone. “Yeah. Actually no, take off your pants and shoes then go change because you aren’t dragging all that dirt into the house.” 

“Fine. It’s not even that much.” Peter rolled his eyes as he kicked his shoes off and tugged his pants down. 

“You clearly haven’t seen your butt. Give me those and go change into some clean clothes then you can talk to Pepper.” He ordered Peter, getting an eye roll in return. “Watch the attitude, kid.” 

As Tony watched Peter go upstairs, he turned to look outside once more, hoping to see another little boy but there was no one there. He didn’t want to admit what he was thinking but it wouldn’t surprise him. 

As he walked into the kitchen to dump Peter’s muddy shoes into the sink, he decided to ask Pepper what her thoughts on it were. “I think Peter has an imaginary friend.” 

“You think he has an imaginary friend?” Pepper asked but there was slight judgement in her voice. Tony placed the phone up on the kitchen counter and leaned against it. 

“I do. It’s not the craziest thing in the world. He’s had them for practically his whole life. I know this move was really hard for him and he had to leave behind so much, maybe he’s feeling lonely so he made an imaginary friend.” The more Tony thought about it, the more he was believing it. “He’s always had a crazy imagination, Pep, you know that.” 

Tony knew that he could lock Peter in an empty room for an hour and the kid would find pieces of dust and somehow keep himself entertained by it. It was why time outs never worked in their house and it was also one of the things he loved most about Peter. 

“I know but he’s eleven, Tony. He hasn’t had an imaginary friend for over three years now.” Pepper sounded mad at him for even bringing up the fact that Peter was so lonely that he created himself an imaginary friend. 

He sighed. “I’m just saying, he said he has a new friend named Oliver and he’s always in the field playing with him but I’ve never seen the kid.” 

“Ask Peter to bring the boy over. Now you have an active imagination, Tony.” Pepper had a slight twinkle in her eyes when she spoke, Tony missed that. 

“You’re probably right. I’ll ask him about it later tonight.” Just then, Peter was walking down the stairs, dressed in grey track pants and a white long sleeved shirt. “And here he is. You two have fun chatting, I’ll give you some privacy.” 

Peter took the phone from his dad and held it up to his face to be able to see Pepper. “Pepper! I miss you.” 

Pepper’s face softened when she saw Peter. “Hi Peter. I miss you too. It’s so quiet without you around. How’s the new house? I heard it’s really big.” 

“Yeah. It’s too big. And it’s always cold.” Peter knew it was October and it was only going to get colder but it was always warm in the penthouse at the tower, especially with everyone there. He missed that. 

“You just have to get your dad to give you some cuddles then.” Pepper tried to get him to smile but there was barely anything there. “So, tell me about you. What’s new? How’s your bedroom? What have you been getting up to?” 

Peter walked into the living room to lay down on the couch. “Uhhh… well… my bedroom is… scary. I haven’t slept in there yet because it’s too big. I tried but I’m not ready yet.” 

Pepper nodded. She was well aware of Peter’s sleep habits because she always had to make room for him in the bed when he would crawl in there, shortly after the two tucked him in. Although she didn’t mind having Peter tucked safety between herself and Tony. 

“That’s okay. I know it’ll take some time but there’s no rush.” 

“Yeah.” Peter looked down. He wasn’t embarrassed about sleeping with his dad at eleven years old but he was trying not to… it was just hard with a huge move like this. 

“Your dad told me about Oliver. Is he your new friend?” Pepper was curious to hear what Peter had to say. What Tony had said had got her thinking. 

“Yeah, he’s the boy next door. He’s nice but he’s weird sometimes.” Peter shrugged, thinking back to how their conversation had ended just a few minutes ago. 

“Why’s he weird?” Peter sighed dramatically because he didn’t know why exactly. Pepper should have known that already. “Okay sassy boy. Let’s move on then. Are you being good for your dad? No trouble?” 

Peter turned on the couch to get more comfortable. He was feeling really tired and wouldn’t be surprised if he fell asleep for a nap pretty soon. “I always am. You know that, Pepper.” 

That had her laughing. Peter reminded her so much like Tony every single day. “I do know that, how could I forget how perfect my boy is.” 

Peter smiled weakly. He missed Pepper and missed having her around. “Can you come visit me and dad soon? It’s so boring without you here. Maybe you can come for a few days and I can give you a tour.” 

“I’m Uh, I’m not in New York right now, Petey. I’m in well, I’m in Malibu.” Pepper hadn’t even told Tony yet. She was planning on it but she hadn’t gotten around to it. She hadn’t left the state without Tony and Peter in years so the move was really hard for her. 

“Oh.” Peter sat up straighter. She wasn’t supposed to leave without them and now she was on the other side of the country. He suddenly didn’t want to talk to her anymore. “I’m um… I actually have to go now. Bye.” 

Peter hung up the call and laid back down. As he stared straight up at the ceiling, he tried to think about why she would leave them like that. Maybe she didn’t actually love him. Otherwise she would be with him right now. 

After a few minutes, Tony was walking into the living room and placing a blanket over Peter before sitting down on the couch. “How was the call?” 

Peter immediately sat up and threw himself into his dad’s arms. “Please don’t leave me. Please stay with me, dad. I don-don’t want you to leave me too.” 

Tony wasn’t expecting this. He rubbed Peter’s back but his heart broke every time his baby cried. “Hey, it’s okay, Petey. I’ll never leave you. You’re my son, baby. I’ll always be here for you.” 

Peter hugged him just a little bit tighter. “Just-just promise me you’ll never l-leave.” 

Tony pulled Peter away from his body so he could cup his face and look into Peter’s eyes. “Peter. Look at me. I swear on my life that I will never ever leave you. You’re my child and I love you more than anything I have or ever will love. You are my entire world and I love you so much.” 

Peter nodded his head as he let out a sob so Tony pulled him back against his chest to hold him there for a bit. He held Peter, rubbing his back up and down while he waited for Peter to calm down a bit. 

After about fifteen minutes, Peter spoke. “Do you think Pepper still loves me?” 

As much as Tony hated that question and the fact that Peter even had to question Pepper's love for him, he wasn’t surprised. Especially after that phone call that obviously didn’t end well. “I know for a fact that she does. I know she loves you more than anything but her and I just need to take a little break, baby. That’s what’s best right now.” 

Peter didn’t understand. They were a family so he didn’t understand why they couldn’t be together. “Do you guys hate each other?” 

“No. Absolutely not. I can't speak for Pepper but I love her and I always will.” Tony explained but he knew how hard it was for Peter to understand. 

Peter was silent for a few seconds as he tried to understand what his dad meant. “Then why did we move into this house? And why did she go to Malibu?” 

That was news to Tony. He had no idea Pepper was in Malibu right now. It kinda hurt to hear that, and from his son, not even Pepper herself. “I don’t know why she went to Malibu, bud. But the reason why we moved into this house is because I think that it’s extremely important for us to get away from the chaotic stress of our life. Even just for a bit. To have a fresh start.” 

Peter nodded. He understood a bit more but that didn’t mean he liked it. He turned to put his face more against his dad’s chest. “Do you think Pepper will ever come back to live with us again?” 

Tony didn’t know the answer to that question. He couldn’t know, not now. He also wasn’t going to lie to Peter and give him false hope. “That’s hard to say, baby. Maybe one day. And maybe not ever again but just know that we both love you so much and that is all that matters.” 

Peter nodded, closing his eyes and sighing. 

“Sometimes bud, sometimes people fall out of love. Just like they fall into love. Things don’t always last like we expect them to.” It was hard, he loved Pepper and they were done. He didn’t know what the future held for them but maybe everything happened for a reason. 

Peter opened his eyes to look up at his dad with hopeful eyes. “But not us, right? We’ll be together forever and you’ll never leave me? Right?” 

Tony placed his hand over Peter’s cheek, looking down at his child. “Peter. I’ll never leave you. You’re stuck with me whether you like it or not.” 

That got Peter giggling. “I like it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s only going to get creepier from here! Okkk so I’m not spoiling anything but I’m actually really struggling with how to end this fic, I have two endings in mind, one ending I’ve already written but now I’m thinking I want to go with my other ending and i don’t know what to do ahhhh
> 
> This is the house that Peter and Tony moved into (anyone recognize it?): 
> 
> https://www.pluggedin.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Haunting_of_Hill_House_Large-1024x587.jpg
> 
> Inside the house: 
> 
> https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ed/b3/ea/edb3ea473d25dc5d34b92c6e120ec575.jpg
> 
> The upstairs hallways look like this: 
> 
> https://hookedonhouses.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Haunting-of-Hill-House-screenshots-3.jpg


	3. Wrong directions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am EXHAUSTED. Mentally and physically drained like I have never been more tired in my entire life omgggg work is killing meeeeee

Peter lifted up his action figure and watched all the water drip off of it before letting it fall into the bath water and splashing his face. 

He used the wash cloth to wipe the water out of his eyes before doing the process again. 

It was freezing cold outside and rainy so he wanted to stay in the bath for as long as possible. He made his dad promise him to get the living room ready for an afternoon movie marathon that he was really looking forward to. 

So Peter dropped his action figures out of the bathtub and leaned down so he could soak his hair and start the washing process. Peter tried to be as careful as he could to not get any water in his eyes as he finished soaping up his hair and went to go rinse it out. 

Since he had his eyes closed impossibly tight, he couldn’t see his dad but he heard him walk into the bathroom. “Dad? I’m just rinsing my hair.” Peter told him, not understanding why he just walked in without knocking or anything even though he always did that. 

Tony didn’t say anything which Peter found weird but he was currently focused on trying not to get water in his eyes so he tried to finish rinsing his hair before engaging in any conversations. 

He could see a shadow move over the bathtub and then there were hands on his chest and shoulders but before Peter had the chance to sit up and open his eyes, the hands were pushing him under the water. 

Peter’s eyes shot open on instinct but he couldn’t make out who was pushing him under. He knew it wasn’t his dad. 

The hands held him under the water, not letting him up for air no matter how much he kicked and thrashed around in the tub. He tried to scream but all that came out was muffled sounds from the water and him swallowing it, causing him to choke and start freaking out even more. 

Peter used his last bit of energy to push himself up and try to let out a scream but he had nothing left in him after that. 

Tony was in his bedroom when he heard the noise from down the hallway so he raced down there not expecting to find what he did. He saw Peter thrashing around in the bathtub with his head under the water as if some invisible force was pushing him down but there was no one there. 

He immediately raced over to the bathtub and bent down to reach in and try to pull Peter up but he couldn’t get his head above the water. 

Tony had to kneel down to get a better grip on Peter but even with that extra grip, he still couldn’t get his head above the water. “I’m trying, Peter. Just hold on.” 

His hands were shaking and his heart was beating fast but he wasn’t going to stop until Peter was okay. 

Since Peter wasn’t wearing anything, there was no clothes that could possibly be stuck on something and preventing him from sitting up so Tony was prepared to grab scissors and cut Peter’s hair off since that was what had to be caught somewhere. 

When he felt his hand behind Peter’s head, there was nothing that was caught. Tony stood up and moved to the other side of the bathtub then yanked Peter up, only this time he was actually able to lift Peter up and out of the water. 

Tony was relieved to hear his cries because at least he knew Peter wasn’t drowning anymore. “It’s okay. You’re okay, just breathe.” Tony smacked his back to help Peter cough the water up. “Get it up. It’s okay, Peter.” 

Once Peter had coughed the water up and was able to breathe better, he sucked in a huge breath of air and curled into his dad’s side, wanting to get the hell out of the bathroom. 

Tony sat down on the bench and pulled Peter on his lap to try to get him to calm down. He reached over for the towel that was hanging up on the hook and wrapped it around his kid to warm him up. He didn’t know if the shaking was coming from himself or Peter, or both of them. 

“Shh, it’s okay, Peter. You’re okay.” He reassured him, knowing how scared Peter was. Hell, he wasn’t the one drowning and he was terrified. Seeing his child with his head under the water and him not being able to get Peter up was absolutely terrifying. 

Tony continued to rock Peter back and forth for a few minutes, waiting for him to calm down. Once he felt like Peter had calmed his breathing down, Tony stood up with Peter in his arms still and carried him into his bedroom so he could hold Peter more comfortably on the bed. 

“Just focus on breathing, Peter. You’re okay now.” He reassured him, continuing to rub Peter’s back some more. 

Peter sucked in a breath and rubbed at his eyes. “I… someone was holdin’ me under. I-I couldn b-breathe.” 

Tony didn’t see anyone in the bathroom but if he were to describe what happened, he would say it was like someone was pushing Peter under and trying to hold him there while Tony fought to bring Peter up for air. 

He could see how Peter was confused. 

“No one was there, Pete. It’s just us in the house. It’s okay now. You just slipped under.” Tony didn’t even believe his own words. Something was so wrong about this. Peter took many baths by himself and never once accidentally slipped under. Something felt wrong. 

Peter shook his head because he knew what he saw. “No. There was someone there.” 

Automatically, Tony looked behind him. “Did you see someone?” 

“Well… no but I felt them push me under.” Peter tried to shift even closer to his dad. He was so scared, even if he was out of the bath. He could still feel those hands on him pushing him under the water and not letting him come up for air. 

Tony didn’t know what to believe. He didn’t want to say that Peter was lying because it did seem that way, but when he ran into the bathroom, there was no one in there. “It’s okay, now. You’re okay, bud, I’m here.” He pressed a kiss to Peter’s face and rubbed his back. “Do you want to get dressed while I go get our movie night set up? If you still wanna watch one?” 

Peter nodded his head. He wanted to stay close to his dad and try to keep his mind off of what just happened. “I still want to. Carry me to my room.” 

Tony didn’t argue with him so he stood up with Peter in his arms and carried his child down the hallway and into his bedroom, setting him on the bed. “Call me if you need me. I’ll be downstairs, bud.” 

As Peter watched his dad leave his bedroom, he felt the urge to reach out and grab onto him, begging him to wait so they could walk downstairs together but Peter knew he had to be tough. He was eleven years old. He was trying to be tough but it was hard. 

After getting dressed into comfortable pyjamas, Peter grabbed his teddy bear and blanket and left his bedroom to walk downstairs. He was already trying to decide what movie he wanted to watch when he heard the floor creak behind him. 

He spun around so fast and jumped when he saw who was standing behind him. “Oliver? You scared me. How did you get into my house?” Peter hugged his bear tighter against his chest as Oliver started to walk towards him. 

“Your back door was open. I wanted to ask if you wanted to meet my mom and dad.” Oliver giggled and stepped closer to Peter. “I like your bear. He looks soft.” 

Peter moved his body so Oliver couldn’t touch his bear. “Don’t touch him. He’s mine.” 

The smile fell from the boys face, causing a shiver to run up Peter’s spine. It was the same face he made by the oak tree earlier today and it freaked Peter out. 

Just then, Tony walked up the stairs so Peter turned to walk into his dads arms. When he looked back at the boy, he had a smile on his face. 

“Hi kid. Uh, are you Oliver?” Tony asked. He was a bit surprised that Oliver was a real kid and not Peter’s imaginary friend that he made up. He was also surprised to see a random kid in the house that he definitely did not let in. It reminded him of the older women who pushed her way into the house that morning but kids did weird things, he wasn’t too surprised by this. 

“Yeah. I’m Oliver and I live in the house in the forest. You must be Peter’s daddy.” Oliver skipped over to Tony to give him a quick hug, grinning at Peter while he did it. 

Tony didn’t expect that. He didn’t like other people’s kids touching him besides his own. “That’s me. Where are your parents? I’m sure they’re worried about you.” It was getting dark out and definitely too late for a child to be out by themselves, especially wandering into peoples houses unannounced. 

The boy shrugged. “They told me to come here and say hi.” He tried to pull on Peter’s bear but Peter whined and held it tighter. 

Tony didn’t know who the hell this kid was. He stopped Oliver from trying to take his kids bear away, knowing how protective Peter was of that thing and wrapped an arm around Peter’s chest. “Well, you better get going home now? Would you like me to drive you?” 

The smile dropped from Oliver’s face and it was like the life drained from him. “I’m not allowed beyond the wooden fence.” 

“Well… it’s a bit too dangerous to walk home through the forest, kid. I’m sure your parents won’t mind.” Tony was trying to get a read on this kid. He was definitely strange, what kid wasn’t strange, he caught Peter doing the weirdest things but this was… almost creepy. The way the boy would look at Peter, Tony didn’t like it. 

Oliver shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. “No. Maybe I can spend the night?” 

Peter shook his head. He wanted to have the night with his dad and his dad alone. No one else. “No. Go home.” 

Tony put his hand on Peter’s chest, a silent way of telling him to be quiet. “Let’s go downstairs so you can call your parents to pick you up then. How about that?” 

After a few seconds of Oliver staring straight ahead, he spoke. “There’s no need. They’ll be here soon enough.” 

Tony eyed the kid. He wanted him as far away from his son as possible. “Alright then… let’s go downstairs.” 

The three of them headed downstairs with Peter reaching out to hold onto his dad’s hand. It was one thing to talk to Oliver outside in the field but it was a bit odd to have the boy in his house. 

Tony ushered Peter into the living room. “Go get the movie started, Pete. I’ll be there soon.” 

Peter stopped walking. “No. I wanna stay with you.” 

“Go, bud. I’ll be there in five minutes.” 

Peter hesitated. Five minutes was a long time. If it took Tony five minutes to get to him in the bath, he would be dead. “Fine. Be quick.” Peter warned him before storming off, hating Oliver right now. 

Tony lead Oliver into the kitchen to call from the home phone. “So, how old are you?” He asked, wanting to know if he was Peter’s age. 

Oliver climbed onto one of the stools and put his head into his hands. “Eleven. I turned eleven on April thirteenth at three in the morning.” 

Tony nodded. So the kid was a few months older than his kid. He picked up the home phone and handed it to Oliver but he didn’t make any move to grab it. “Would you like me to dial the numbers?” 

“I told you, they’ll be here soon.” Oliver grinned at him. “They want to meet Peter.” 

As Tony stared at the boy, trying to figure out the odd feeling he was getting from him, the doorbell rang. He had a pretty good idea who was at the door. 

He put the phone down and left the kitchen to go open the door, preparing himself to see the parents of that strange child. When he unlocked the door, he was greeted with two beaming parents who looked way too happy to be there. 

“Hi. I’m Tony-” 

“Oh my goodness. You must be Peter’s father. We’re Oliver’s parents and we sent him over here to say hi but he hasn’t returned yet. Is he with your little boy by any chance?” The mother asked. Tony looked towards the father who was staring over his shoulder with a giant smile on his face. 

He turned around when he heard footsteps running towards them. “Yeah, here he is.” 

“Mommy! Daddy!” Oliver ran into his dad’s arms and was thrown into the air before being settled on the man’s hip. “Peter’s daddy is so nice. Him and Peter are gonna have a movie night!” 

Tony was already getting ready to close the door. “Get home safely.” 

“Oh, we would love to say hello to your son. We’ve heard so much about him but we haven’t seen him yet.” The mother was saying. She leaned forward to try and peak her head into the house but Tony was standing in the way. 

“You know what, right now isn’t the best time. He’s tired so we’re gonna have a quiet night. Maybe we’ll see you around tomorrow.” He didn’t really want to but if had to, it was better than now.

Both smiles dropped from the parents faces as if he just told them their son was hurt. He really wanted them gone now. 

“That’s too bad. We’ll see your boy tomorrow then.” The dad said then held his hand out with Tony’s to shake. “It’s nice to meet you, Tony. I’m William and this is my wife Beth.” 

The mother, Beth, held her hand out for Tony. “It’s short for Elizabeth but no one calls me that anymore.” 

“It’s nice to meet you Beth and William but I better get back to my son now.” Tony waved bye to them then shut the door and locked it, double checking that it was locked. He looked out the peephole to make sure he saw them walking away but there were gone. Just like that. It was as if they had vanished. 

He didn’t think too much of it. It was quite foggy out so he assumed that they disappeared into the fog. Right now, he wanted to go around the house and make sure all the doors were locked. 

There were quite a few doors in the massive house but he was going to check everyone. That boy had gotten in somehow, he was just glad it was a little boy and not a full grown man that walked in. 

As he went around to make sure all the doors were locked, he noticed that they were all already locked. Oliver had said he got in through an unlocked door but… they were all locked. 

Unless he locked it behind him but that seemed… odd. 

Tony didn’t think too much of it, maybe he missed something but he was exhausted so after walking into the living room and seeing Peter passed out on the couch, he sighed. He was really looking forward to that movie but it was already so late. 

He walked over to the couch and reached over to turn the tv off. “I love you, Pete.” He whispered into his ear then moved his hand under Peter’s upper back and knees to lift him into his arms and carry him upstairs. 

Once he got to the hallway, he debated on putting Peter into his own bed but he decided against it. They were creating bad habits but at least they both slept through the night. Especially after what they just went through with the whole bathtub drowning. 

He got Peter settled in the bed, covering him with the blankets and tucking his bear under his arm before pressing a kiss to his face and leaving the bedroom to clean up a bit before getting ready for bed himself. 

He grabbed a laundry hamper from the hallway and carried it into Peter’s bedroom to pick up some dirty clothes. It was still a mystery to him how Peter produced so much dirty clothes without even wearing them for longer than ten seconds. 

After that was done, he walked across the hallway, into the bathroom to clean up the water off the floor and drain the tub. Reaching his hand into the now cold water, he got a flashback of Peter with his head under the water and how scary it had been for the both of them. 

He wanted to get that sight out of his head. 

Grabbing a towel, Tony got onto his hands and knees to clean up the water on the floor but he paused when he spotted something. It looked like a piece of paper but when he reached over to grab it, he realized it was the photo of him that Peter was looking for on their first night there. 

The picture was crumbled up like someone was holding it in their hand. It was also extremely dirty with dried up mud covering it. Peter must have found it earlier in the day and forgot to tell him about it. 

He placed it on the bathroom counter and left the room. 

.  
.  
.

Peter was sitting on a log outside of the house while his dad was having a rather loud discussion with Pepper. 

He didn’t know what it was about, his dad just told him to go play outside but he heard them arguing on his way out. He assumed it had something to do with Pepper flying to Malibu without them. He was pretty upset about that but he had forgiven her. 

He looked towards the house and pulled his colouring book out of his bag to start colouring in the picture that he drew a few days ago but hadn’t gotten the chance to colour it in yet. 

Pepper had helped him draw it so he was missing her extra hard right now. 

Perhaps one day she will want to see him again… maybe. He didn’t know. His dad didn’t seem to know the answer to that question either. 

“Mayday mayday! Airplane coming in for a crash landing! Clear the runway!” 

Peter turned around to see where the voice was coming from. He saw Oliver running towards him with a paper airplane in his hand and making sound effects. Peter smiled. 

“Where’d you get that? It looks really cool.” Peter put his colouring book to the side and sat up on his knees to look at the paper airplane. 

Oliver came and sat down next to him. “Dad made it. Do you like it?” 

“Uh huh.” Peter held his hands out for the airplane. Once he had it in his hands, he carefully looked it over then started to make it soar through the air. “Can you make me one? I like it.” 

Oliver shrugged. “Only my dad knows how. I don’t.” Oliver grabbed the plane back from Peter and stood up super fast with a gasp. “I got an idea! Follow me.” 

Peter was quick to stand up and follow the boy, leaving his colouring book and camera behind. He ran after him through the tall grass, almost tripping over a few sticks. “Wait! Slow down. You’re going too fast. Oliver? Oliver?!” 

Before Peter knew what was happening, he lost his balance and tripped over a stick in the tall grass. He held his arms out in front of him to protect himself from the fall but he scraped his hands and knees. 

He let out a whimper and pushed himself up, feeling the tears come on. “Ow.” 

Oliver was walking up behind him and putting his hand on his shoulder, giving Peter a flashlight of what happened the night before. He quickly crawled backwards, away from Oliver in his fear. 

“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to run that fast. I’m sorry, Peter.” Oliver looked at his knees and gasped. “You’re hurt!” 

Peter whimpered again. He wanted his dad. 

Oliver stood up. Peter thought the boy was going to run away and leave him there alone but then he was looking towards his house. “My mom and dad are coming. They’ll bring you back to our house to help you.” 

Peter shook his head and looked back towards his house. He needed his dad. “No. I want my dad.” 

Oliver looked hesitant but he didn’t say anything. Seconds later, both parents were appearing out of the tall grass, scaring Peter. He had no idea how they got to them so quickly and how they knew he was hurt. 

“Oh. You poor thing.” Oliver’s mom said, kneeling down to caress his face and push the hair out of his eyes like his dad always did. “We’ll bring you home and get you all cleaned up. We can’t have your body hurt, now can we?” 

Peter wiped at his eyes. “I want my dad.” 

Oliver’s father was kneeling in front of him. “I’m right here, sport. Let’s get you home now.” 

Peter didn’t think he hit his head but now he wasn’t so sure. He wasn’t dizzy but this man wasn’t his father. He shook his head and tried to get up but the man was lifting him into his arms, bridal style. 

That’s when the tears started. 

He didn’t want to go with this man. He needed his dad. Not Oliver’s dad. 

“No. Put me down! I wanna go home. I-I need my dad.” Peter cried out, trying to arch his back and turn over in the man’s arms. They were going in the wrong direction. 

Oliver reached up to pat his head. “It’s okay, Peter. My daddy will take care of you now. It’ll be okay.” 

That made Peter cry harder. 

It was already too late to get away after he was carried through the forest and into the house. He heard the door shut then lifted his hands up to his face to cry harder. He was hurt and scared and now his dad had no idea where he was and he had no way of telling him. 

He was aware of himself being carried upstairs and down a long hallway but he didn’t open his eyes. He was too scared. 

“Don’t be scared. We’ll take care of you, sweetie. No need to be scared.” The lady’s voice said and although it was a calming voice, it didn’t help him to calm down at all. 

He was maneuvered out of the man’s arms and set on the closed toilet seat. “We’re gonna clean up your cuts and then put some bandages on them. You get to pick what ones you want. We have Winnie the Pooh.” The mom had said in a baby voice and reached out to tickle his stomach which had him giggling, despite him wanting to. 

Peter looked around but Oliver was nowhere to be found. He didn’t care that much because he was more focused on his cuts that were burning. 

The mom and dad made quick process of cleaning his wounds and making him choose bandages but he didn’t care. He was ready to go home now. 

Peter rubbed at his eyes once the whole process was over and he stood up. “I wanna go home now. I want my dad.” 

Both parents' faces dropped but then morphed into almost… regret. “Oh honey. You’re not ready to go back just yet. We have to change you into your clothes.” 

Peter frowned. “My clothes aren’t here. They’re at home.” 

The father stood up, looking confused. “That’s right. Too early, not yet, sport.” 

Peter had no idea what he was talking about. He watched Oliver’s dad leave the room and then he was holding his hands out for the mom, hoping to get her to let him go home. “Can I please go home now? I want my daddy.” 

“Shh. Not yet. It’s not time yet, Oliver.” 

Peter looked up at her. “My names Peter.” 

She just hushed him again before standing up and leaving the bathroom, leaving him alone and scared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh I hope you guys liked that chapter:)) I have to edit every chapter before I post it so I just edited it so it was like reading it all over again since I can’t really remember what I wrote haha


	4. Death is a scary thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii guys!!! How is everyone doing? Halloween is so soon and so is the end of this ficcc ahhhhh I’m sooo excited!! 
> 
> This fic is a darker fic than I usually write and I just want to give this little warning just in case... 
> 
> WARNING: talks about death and dying in this chapter 
> 
> Enjoy:)

Tony hung up the phone with Pepper with a little too much force. 

He put his head in his hands and sighed loudly. He didn’t want to fight with Pepper but one thing had lead to another and before he knew it, they were going at each other, blaming one another for who’s fault the breakup was which lead to Tony getting mad at her for going to Malibu and her getting mad at him for moving Peter all the way up there. 

It wasn’t like Tony was trying to take Peter away from Pepper, he would never do that. He knew how much those two loved each other and got along. He moved the two of them up there because it was what they needed. They needed to get away from everything for a little bit. 

Although as each day passed, he was starting to regret that decision more and more but he didn’t know why. 

With a groan, Tony stood up to go get Peter from outside. 

He wanted to do something with his kid and get his mind off of everything for the rest of the evening. 

Tony put his shoes and coat on and walked outside. He immediately started walking towards the stream, knowing he was going to find Peter there. 

As he was getting closer though, he didn’t see his curly haired boy. “Pete? Time to go inside now.” 

Tony stopped walking to look around. He didn’t see Peter or any sign of him so he sighed, thinking that Peter had gone back into the house without him noticing so he started making his way back into the house, kicking off his shoes at the front door and shutting it. 

“Pete? Come down to the living room for a sec.” He walked to the end up the stairs and waited to hear little footsteps that never came. “Peter?” 

He felt his heart start to speed up after still no sign of his kid so he started to quickly run up the stairs and down the hallway to look in Peter’s bedroom. “Peter?” 

There still wasn’t any sign of his kid which had him starting to freak out. It wasn’t like Peter to randomly disappear or to disobey him and go where he knew he wasn’t allowed. 

After not finding Peter in the house, Tony raced back downstairs, shoved his shoes on and ran outside. His heart was beating a 100 miles a minute and the fact that it was now raining outside did not help one bit. 

“Peter?!” He screamed, trying to be heard over the loud rain. 

Tony ran towards the stream, getting flashes of Peter falling in and drowning. He wasn’t going to be there to save him this time or he was going to be too late… that terrified him. 

He looked up and down the stream, not seeing his kids body but that still didn’t mean he didn’t fall in. Tony started to run down the side of the water, not wanting to see anything floating but also having to know. 

When he spotted a paper under the oak tree, he stopped and ran over to the tree, bending down to pick up Peter’s colouring book. “Peter? Peter?!” 

Tony felt sick. 

He knew his kid and he knew that Peter wouldn’t just leave his colouring book and walk away from it. 

Something was wrong. 

Tony dropped the book and started heading in the direction of Oliver’s house in the forest. He didn’t know where else to go or who to turn to but they seemed to take a liking to Peter yesterday so hopefully they could help him. 

He made it to the house in record time and banged on the door as if his life depended on it. Maybe in a way, it did. Peter was his entire life and if something happened to him… 

It took way too long for someone to answer the door but when it finally opened up, revealing Beth, Tony was ready to beg her for help. 

“I can’t find my son. Have you seen him? Maybe he went with your kid.” He ran his hand through his hair, pushing away the water pouring into his eyes from it. 

Beth was smiling at him as if she hadn’t even heard what he said or saw the panic in his eyes. 

“My kid. Peter. I-I can’t find him.” He said again, turning around to look out into the forest, wondering if Peter was okay. 

She tilted her head at him. “Peter? Oh. Right, Peter.” She stepped to the side a bit. “Yes, he hurt himself while playing with Oliver. I’m afraid…” 

She paused and it had Tony holding back his urge to slap her. He didn’t know what the hell was wrong with this woman. 

“Yeah. Peter. My husband and I brought him back home to clean up his scraps. He’s a tough little boy.” 

Tony felt relief wash over him but that was soon replaced by anger. He wanted to see his kid. These people had no right to take his kid into their home and away from him without his permission when they could have brought Peter home instead. 

“Where is he? Where’s my kid?” Tony got a flashback to when that older lady had pushed her way into his house since he was doing the same thing right now. “Peter?!” 

This time, he heard the footsteps making its way towards him. He looked in the direction and practically melted when he saw his baby boy. “Oh Peter. I’m here. Are you okay?” Tony kneeled down so he could hug Peter against his chest. 

“Dad. Daddy. I-I didn’t want to come. I’m s-sorry! Don’t be mad at me.” Peter cried into neck and shook. 

“No. No, baby. I’m not mad at you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there. Are you okay?” Tony pulled Peter away from him so he could see his face. He noticed that his face was all red and blotchy, meaning that he had been crying for a long time. He felt sick. 

Peter nodded. “I-I was running with Oliver then… I tripped. My knees were bleeding. And my hands.” Peter showed his dad his hands that were wrapped in bandages. 

Tony gently squeezed his wrist and stood up fully, only for Peter to whimper and raise his arms up so Tony lifted his kid into his arms, pressing a kiss to the side of his face. 

When he turned to look at Beth, she did not look happy. It freaked Tony out. “I appreciate you helping my son out but you had no right to take him into your home without my permission. I’m his father. Next time, you ask me.” 

Tony didn’t care if he wasn’t being thankful. There was zero need for them to take Peter all the way into their house when he had gotten hurt close to the oak tree. He could press charges for child kidnapping since this was what this was in a way. 

Beth only stared at him as he opened the door and left the house, holding Peter tightly in his arms. It had stopped raining a bit but it was still pretty heavy. 

Tony wanted to get Peter home and into dry clothes as soon as possible. 

Peter buried his face into his dad's neck and wrapped his arms around him. “I was so scared. I didn’t want to go… but they didn’t take me home like I wanted. I’m sorry.” 

Tony rubbed Peter’s back, pressing another kiss onto his face. “It’s okay, baby. You’re okay now and that is all that matters. I don’t want you going near them again without my permission, okay?” 

Peter gave a weak nod into his neck before shutting his eyes and trying to relax now that he was safe in his dad's arms. 

.  
.  
.

Peter walked into his bathroom to go pee but something caught his eye on the way in. 

He looked on the counter and saw the Polaroid picture of his dad that he took and thought he lost. It was a bit dirty and looked like it had been crumpled and flattened out but he had it back which he was happy about. He couldn’t wait to show his dad. 

If he would ever get off the phone. Peter wanted to spend the night watching movies with his dad but after the two of them built some legos in his bedroom for about an hour, Tony was off again, 

Peter knew he was talking to Pepper but he didn’t know if they were still fighting and he didn’t want to listen in and find out so he quickly went pee and walked back into his bedroom, putting the photo on his dresser and sitting back down on the floor to finish building his legos. 

He had his back towards his bedroom door so when he heard it open, he snapped his head to turn and ask his dad if they could watch a movie but it wasn’t his dad. It was Oliver. 

“Oh. Why are you here?” Peter asked, automatically turning around to fully face him. He knew his dad didn’t want him being around Oliver’s parents without his permission but he didn’t know if he was allowed to still be friends with Oliver. 

Oliver walked towards him and sat down. “Your dad let me in. What’re you doing?” 

“Um… building legos. My dad was playing with me but he had to go.” Peter explained to him, kind of excited that Oliver was there since now he had someone to play with. 

“Cool. I love legos, can I build with you?” 

Peter nodded so then two of them got to building together and talking about their favourite lego sets. Peter told him about his old house in Manhattan and his best friend, Ned. He was enjoying the company of his friend, despite what happened earlier on. 

In the office, Tony heard some small chattering going on, coming from Peter’s room. It wasn’t a surprise to hear talking coming from Peter’s room when he was alone since he tended to talk to his toys, making little sound effects as well but this sounded like a full on conversation going on so Tony stood up to go investigate. 

As he got closer to Peter’s bedroom, he could hear two voices and one voice was definitely not Peter’s. He stood by the door to listen in but the talking suddenly stopped so he knocked. 

“Yeah?” Came Peter’s voice. 

When he opened the door, he wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Oliver sitting on the floor with Peter. “Hi Oliver. You know, we have a doorbell. Do you know what that is?” 

Oliver turned to look up at him but didn’t say anything so Tony raised his eyebrows at Peter. “You boys having fun?” Peter nodded. 

“We’re building my legos together. Wanna help?” 

Tony shook his head. He had things to do. “Not right now, bud. Oliver, do your parents know that you’re here? I don’t want them to think that I’ve kidnapped you.” 

Oliver gave a sharp nod but Tony didn’t believe him. “How about you call them just to make sure.” 

Peter was speaking up before Oliver had the chance to respond. “Can Oliver sleep over? I wanna play legos with him and I don’t want him to go home.” 

Tony didn’t expect that. The only person Peter ever had a sleepover with was Ned and even then, Ned only ever slept over at their house since Peter tried staying over at Ned’s house once and it ended up with Tony having to get in the car at 11pm to go pick him up. 

“Uh… are you sure?” Tony looked towards Peter and raised his eyebrows at him, wanting to make sure it was what Peter wanted. 

Peter nodded. “Uh huh. It was Oliver’s idea. He said we can stay up super late and play with legos.” He didn't want Oliver to sleepover at first but now he liked the idea. 

“Well… I’m saying no to the staying up late part but if Oliver calls his parents and they say it’s okay, then yes.” Tony gestured for both boys to follow him downstairs so Oliver could call just to make sure.

He didn’t know how he felt about this but he wanted to make Peter happy so if this was what Peter wanted, then so be it. 

.  
.  
.

Later on that night while Tony was getting the boys ready for bed, he pulled Peter aside while Oliver was in the washroom with the bag his parents had dropped off for him. 

“Are you sure you want him to sleep over? I want you to be comfortable with it.” Tony asked since he stopped having sleepovers himself but he knew how they worked so he knew that meant Peter couldn’t sleep with him. 

Peter nodded. “Uh huh. I’m sure. We’re gonna play legos together for a bit then we’ll play games on my iPad.” 

Tony still wasn’t so sure about this but Peter seemed excited and he wanted his kid to be happy. Especially after everything they’ve been through in these past few weeks with the move and everything. 

“Alright. If you need me, I’ll be in my office for a bit and I’ll be in my room, okay?” He pulled Peter against his side and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. 

Peter groaned. “Dad. I know. I’m not a baby. I’m eleven years old.” 

Tony fake gasped. “Oh my. How could I forget. You’re a big boy now.” 

Peter playfully smacked his dad on the arm and stuck his bottom lip out. “I am. Don’t say it like that.” 

“I’m just messing with you, kid. Go get your pyjamas on and I’ll say goodnight to you now.” 

Peter tried to remember that his dad was just a few doors down from him and under the same roof. There wasn’t any need for him to be scared. He tried to remember that but it was hard. 

After he was settling into his room with Oliver, Peter started to feel a lot better. His mind was quickly occupied by the fun he was having and after just a few minutes of lego building, he forgot he was even tired. 

Oliver pushed his lego house in front of Peter to show him his progress. “Like it?” 

Peter put down his piece to look at it. “Yeah. It’s cool but you should add another window here. That way you can look outside from the back of the house.” 

The two of them continued building in comfortable silence but after a few minutes, Peter looked up to see that Oliver was staring at him in the creepy way that he does that Peter hated. 

“What?” 

Oliver seemed to snap out of it. “Nothing… just thinking.” 

“Thinking about what?” Peter asked him, continuing to build. 

Oliver was silent for a few long seconds before he began talking. “About dying.” That had Peter stopping and looking up at his new friend. Oliver continued. “I wonder if everyone goes to the same place after we die.” 

Peter didn’t like talking about death. It was too scary. “I don’t know.” 

Oliver didn’t stop talking about it. “Are you scared to die? Like, what happens after you die and where you’ll go? Not what happens to your body.” 

“Um…” Peter looked at his feet. He wanted his dad to come in now and tell them to go to bed because he didn’t want to talk about this. “We should get back to building now.” 

“Answer my question, Peter.” Oliver demanded in a different voice. Peter snapped his head up to look at him but Oliver’s face was softening. “Please.” 

“Um… I don’t know. I only had a pet fish that died one day and I was really sad.”Peter explained to him. 

Oliver looked hesitant. “Oh. My grandma Anne died last year. Sometimes she comes around to visit me.” 

Peter nodded, assuming that Oliver meant that she came around in his dreams. He didn’t dream about his goldfish. He answered his previous question.“I guess after someone dies, then they go to heaven.” 

Oliver didn’t seem satisfied with that answer. “Always? What if they’re really little? Like us? What would happen if you die? Where will you go?” 

Peter crawled over to his iPad because he didn’t like this conversation and he wanted to change the subject now. “I don’t know. I’m not gonna go away because my dad said he’ll always protect me.” 

“My parents said the same thing to me but then they couldn’t.” Oliver crawled over to Peter and lowered his voice down to a whisper. “This house is magic. So is my house. Everywhere inside the wooden fence is magic but I can’t ever leave.” 

Peter thought back to how Oliver said he couldn’t go beyond the wooden fence and how he had freaked out when Peter had suggested they go. “Why’s it magic?” 

Oliver crossed his legs. “I don’t know exactly. But my parents do. They said that they can show you the magic too. But first you have to go away.” 

“Go where? I don’t want to leave my dad.” Peter looked towards the door, hoping his dad could come and rescue him from this conversation. 

Oliver shrugged. “I told you, I don’t know.” He drew a circle into the carpet with his finger. Peter watched him, feeling like he was being cornered. “My parents want me to do a bad thing. I don’t want to but… I want to leave.” 

“Well… maybe tell them you don’t wanna do anything bad.” 

“But they said I can leave if I do. It’s been so long.” Oliver almost yelled and it had Peter flinching and standing up. 

“You’re scaring me. Stop talking about this now.” Peter went to go walk towards the bedroom door that was half open but as he was moving towards it, it slammed shut. Peter almost peed his pants, he was so scared. 

He jumped and turned back around to face Oliver who was also now standing up and staring at him but his eyes went straight through him as if it was just an empty shell. “Oliver. You’re scaring me.” 

He continued to stare at Peter for a little bit longer then he suddenly stopped and sat down, pulling Peter’s iPad onto his lap. “Wanna watch YouTube?” 

Peter felt like he had whiplash from what was going on and the rather sudden change in mood. He slowly nodded and made his way onto the floor to sit next to Oliver, still feeling on edge. “O-okay.” 

For the rest of the night, Peter slowly forgot about how weird Oliver was acting and how much the boy had scared him. The two of them watched YouTube videos until Peter was getting tired so they both climbed into bed and got comfortable to continue watching the videos there. 

Peter was almost asleep when Oliver looked over at him and forced his eyelid open. “Are you tired?” 

“Ow. Yes. That’s why I was about to fall asleep.” Peter pushed his hands away from him and turned to face the other way. “Are you?” 

“Am I what?” 

Peter sat up and turned to look at him. “Tired?” 

Oliver looked surprised. “Oh. No. I’m never tired.” 

Peter stared at him. It was what he sometimes told his dad when he didn’t want to go to bed. He always liked to push his dad’s buttons sometimes. 

Lying back down, Peter reached over to pat Oliver’s back. “Maybe just close your eyes and you’ll fall asleep.” 

It didn’t take very long for Peter to completely pass out, leaving Oliver wide awake to complete his parents requests. 

.  
.  
.

Tony was exhausted. 

It was already past 1am and he was just finishing up with some work. He was actually grateful that Oliver was spending the night since it gave him a chance to get caught up on some work he had been meaning to do. 

After finishing up with that, he decided to go check on the boys to make sure they were in fact sleeping and not playing with the legos this late at night. 

He quietly made his way upstairs and opened the bedroom door but almost jumped when he saw that Oliver was sitting up in bed and staring at his kid. 

He walked into the room and went to go make sure Peter was okay in his sleep. “Hey, kid. Are you alright? Did you have a bad dream?” 

Oliver just stared at him. 

Tony looked down at Peter, carefully pulling the blankets off his face and feeling under his nose to feel his breathing. 

“Would you like me to call your parents for you? It’s okay if you had a bad dream-” 

Oliver cut him off. “I don’t dream.” 

“That’s… fine.” Tony wouldn’t have thought anything of it since kids were strange and said strange things but he was already wary of Oliver. “How about you just close your eyes and try to fall asleep.” 

Oliver sighed and looked over at Peter. “If Peter asked you to, would you save his life?” 

Tony felt like he had been slapped across the face. To hear that question come out of a child’s mouth, it was not right. “Excuse me? Why would you ask me that question?” 

Oliver smiled and laid down. “I’m sorry. You’re right, I’ll try to close my eyes. Goodnight, Peter’s daddy.” 

Tony got the sudden urge to pick Peter up and run but he didn’t. He knew he was overprotective of his kid but he didn’t want to ruin his first sleepover so he stood up and left, leaving Oliver alone with Peter. 

Oliver sat up in bed and turned to look at Peter. He stared at him, watching him sleep well into the early hours of the morning. 

Peter turned over in bed and rubbed at his eyes. He could make out a figure sitting up in the bed when he suddenly remembered that he was having a sleepover with the boy next door. 

He realized that Oliver was awake and watching him sleep. “Huh? What’re you doin’?” 

Oliver continued to stare at him without saying a word. 

Peter pushed himself up on his elbows and looked more intently at him, trying to see if he was sleeping while sitting up but his eyes were looking right at him. “Did you sleep at all?”

“No.” Oliver had said, not moving. “I don’t sleep.” 

“Oh.” Peter laid back down and looked up at the boy. “Maybe you should try.” With that, he drifted back off to sleep.

Oliver watched him. 

He watched his chest rise and fall as each breath he took. It wasn’t fair. He missed sleeping. He missed dreaming. 

He missed feeling alive. 

So what he did next was to hopefully feel that way again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked that:) I work with kids so I have to dress up for Halloween tmr but I have noooo idea what I’m going to be


	5. Please don’t let this be it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second last chapter ahhhhh!!!

Tony was a light sleeper. 

He always had been but he had become an even lighter sleeper after Peter was born. He was always ready to wake up and run to Peter’s bedroom to comfort him or help him with anything that he needed in the middle of the night. 

Or just roll over and help him if Peter was sleeping with him that night. They broke that habit but have recently started it up again. 

That’s why, when he felt a presence in his room, he immediately opened his eyes, expecting to find Peter ready to crawl into his bed but he was wrong. 

Oliver was standing next to his bed, as still as possible. 

“What’re you doing, kid?” Tony asked, sitting up and running a hand through his messy hair. 

Oliver stared at him. “Shouldn’t you check on Peter?” 

Tony felt a chill run up his spine. 

He ripped the blankets off himself and made a dash down the hallway, towards Peter’s bedroom. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. Not until he saw Peter and that he was okay. 

Tony threw the door open but what he saw was ten times scarier than walking into Peter drowning in the bathtub. 

Peter was lying flat in the bed, staring at the ceiling with his eyes open as his body shook. Tony was immediately at his side and placing his hands on his cheeks. “Peter. Look at me.” He gently slapped his cheek to get Peter to respond to him but he was shaking uncontrollably. 

Tony’s hands were shaking with adrenaline and his heart was beating way too fast to be healthy. 

“Peter!” He tried to sit Peter up before deciding to just roll him onto his side and reach into his pocket for his phone but he didn’t have it on him. He left it in his bedroom. 

Tony knew that he had to keep his composure for Peter. 

He didn’t know how long it had been before Peter was going completely still and deadweight in his arms. Tony sat him up, pulling Peter onto his lap and brushing his hair out of his face to try and get Peter to wake up. 

“Wake up, Peter. C’mon.” He shook Peter’s body and then Peter was waking up and looking around confused. “There you go. It’s okay, just breathe.” 

Peter lifted a limp hand up to rub at his eyes then dropped his head onto his dad’s chest. “Wha’?” 

Tony continued to rub at his back. “It’s okay. Do you feel sick? How do you feel?” 

Peter weakly lifted up his arm again to look at his hand as he answered. “M’tired.” 

“I know. It’s okay. You’re okay, baby.” Tony continued to reassure him while also trying to keep his eyes open and keep him awake. 

He looked towards the door and saw Oliver standing there but he didn’t look scared in the slightest. Tony didn’t have time to think about it in the moment but now that he knew Peter was okay, he thought back to when Oliver woke him up and how calm he was. 

Almost like he knew something. 

Tony stood up with Peter in his arms and turned the light on. “Oliver, I’m gonna call your parents to come pick you up. I need to stay with Peter and make sure that he is okay.” 

Oliver didn’t say anything so Tony picked his empty bag up and placed it on the bed. “Do you need help packing all your things?” 

With a shake of Oliver’s head, Tony took Peter and left the room to call Oliver’s parents. It was just past 5am and although it was early, Tony didn’t plan on going back to sleep. He wanted to stay with Peter to make sure he was okay even after Oliver's parents picked him up and left. 

.  
.  
.

Tony was beyond angry. 

It had been a few days since the little incident with Oliver sleeping over and since then, Tony hasn’t let Peter out of his sight but now, for the first time in a few days, he has and Peter goes and does this… 

Tony marched into the living room to find Peter sitting on the living room carpet playing with his legos. “Peter.” 

Peter turned to look at him. “Yeah?” 

Tony held up the cut phone cables that he found hidden behind the wardrobe in the laundry room. “What’s this? Are you serious right now?” 

Peter sat up straighter to try and see what his dad was holding up. “What is it?” 

“You cut the phone cables so now I can’t call out anywhere from the home phone.” Tony walked closer to Peter to drop the cut up wires onto the table in front of him. He knew Peter liked to take things apart that he shouldn’t, just so he could make some sort of battery or toy, it wasn’t the first time Peter had done something like this but Tony was just surprised that Peter was still doing it at his age. 

“I didn’t do that.” Peter said honestly but he could already tell that no matter how hard he tried to tell his dad he didn’t do it, he wouldn’t believe him. 

“And now you’re lying to me?” Tony sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “Look, I know this move has been really hard for you. I know that and I appreciate you being so brave about everything but this,” Tony pointed to the cut up wires on the table. “is unacceptable.” 

Peter stared at the wires. He didn’t do that and he wasn’t going to get blamed for something he didn’t do. 

“But I didn’t do that! I’m telling the truth, dad.” Peter stood up. He felt his eyes burn with tears but he wasn’t going to let them fall. 

Tony heard his cell phone ringing in the kitchen and he knew it was Pepper since he had been trying to get a hold of her for the past few hours. “Peter. Just… I don’t want to hear it right now. I have to go answer my phone so please don’t get into any trouble while I’m gone.” 

Peter watched his dad walk away from him. 

He was upset at the fact that his own dad didn’t even believe him. Peter knew he was arguing with Pepper quite a lot these past few days but that didn’t make it fair. 

Peter picked up his camera from the floor and stormed outside. He didn’t care that he didn’t ask permission first since his dad clearly didn’t care what he had to say and it hurt. 

Peter ran towards the oak tree and sat himself down on a log under it. It was quite cold out so he tugged his jacket over his hands and pulled his knees to his chest. 

He thought about Pepper and wondered what she was doing right now. She would believe him because she always listened to him even if she was under a lot of stress and his story was ridiculous. He missed her. 

The sound of someone walking towards him was heard so Peter quickly wiped at his eyes, expecting to see his dad but sighed in relief when it was just Oliver. “How do you always know that I’m out here?” 

Oliver sat down in front of him. “Because I’m always outside and I see you leave your house.” 

Peter looked towards Oliver’s house but he didn’t know how that was possible. There were trees and tall grass in the way, plus it was too far of a distance. “That doesn’t even seem possible.” 

“You’d be amazed at what’s possible here.” Oliver paused and looked over at him. “Want me to show you now?” 

“Show me what?” Peter asked, curiosity getting the better of him. 

Oliver stood up and held his hand out to help Peter up. “Come with me and I’ll show you.” 

Peter hesitated. He looked towards his house and knew that if his dad found out he was going somewhere without his permission, he would be in huge trouble… although he was already in trouble so he held a hand out for Oliver to take. 

Peter held his camera in one hand and let Oliver tug him into the tall grass with his other hand. He looked back at his house but the further he went, the more the grass was blocking his vision. 

“Where are we going?” Peter asked him, already getting a bad feeling about this. 

Oliver kept walking and didn’t say anything. 

“Oliver? I’m being serious. Last time I followed you, I got hurt.” Peter still had scabs on his knees from that time. 

Oliver came to a sudden stop in front of an old tree that looked like it had been burnt. On the top, there was a tree house but it looked like it had once been on fire. 

“Come on. This is where I hang out. It’s why I can see you leave your house all the time.” Oliver added then started to walk towards the unstable tree to start climbing up it. 

Peter didn’t want to follow him. “Oliver, um… maybe we should go somewhere else. This doesn’t look too safe.” 

Oliver's smile dropped as he turned to look at Peter. “What’s wrong? I go up here all the time. Trust me.” 

The problem was that Peter didn’t trust Oliver. 

“My parents are home if something happens anyways.” Oliver pointed towards the forest so Peter turned and looked in that direction but was surprised to see that the boys house was right next to them. He didn’t know how he didn’t see it before or how he had walked so far away from his house without noticing. 

“I still don’t think-” Peter jumped back when he looked back towards the tree. He took a few steps back and had to rub at his eyes to see if what he was seeing was actually real. 

The once burnt tree was no longer burnt. It was huge, colourful and alive. At the top there was the treehouse that wasn’t in any way bit burnt which had been feeling like he was in a dream. 

“Woah… I just, my eyes are seeing things.” Peter looked around him to see if the tree that he was originally looking at was there but it wasn’t. 

Oliver giggled. “Come follow me, Peter.” 

Now that Peter had no excuse not to climb the tree, he put his camera down and started to climb up the built in ladder after Oliver. 

When they both got to the top, Peter stood up and looked up out the window of the treehouse and to his excitement, he could see his house. It looked even bigger being all the way up there. 

Oliver pulled out a bottle and then sat down. He waited for Peter to copy him and then he was holding the bottle out for him. “Drink this.” 

Peter took the bottle from Oliver and looked at it. It was a small glass bottle with no labels on it. “What’s inside?” 

“I can’t tell you but it’s magic. I can teach you how to do what I can do. Then I’ll be able to leave.” Oliver explained to him and reached forward to take the bottle back from Peter so he could open it. 

“Did you make the tree become alive again?” Peter asked. It was the only logical explanation he could think of. 

“No. I didn’t do anything.” Peter didn’t understand. He looked out the window and could see the strong tree branches holding them up and the changing colours of the leaves. “It’s too hard to explain but if you drink this, you’ll understand.” 

Peter reached for the bottle and held it up to his nose to sniff it but the smell had him pulling away and feeling his nose and eyes burn. “What is that? That smells… old.” 

Oliver sighed and sat up on his knees to take the bottle from Peter. “It’s not old. My parents just got it and told me to give it to you.” 

Peter backed away. “Why don’t you drink it?” 

“Because… it won’t change anything. Nothing will happen to me because I’m already dead.” 

Peter stared at the boy sitting in front of him. He tried to understand what he was just told. “What do you mean?” 

Oliver placed the bottle on the ground aggressively and stood up to point out the window. “I died in that house. Over ten years ago. My parents survived the fire but they couldn’t get me out and by the time help arrived, it was already too late.” 

Peter stood up to look out the window. Right in front of them was Oliver’s house. Peter didn’t believe him. The house was fine and didn’t look the least bit burnt, not like the tree had. 

“You’re lying. My dad said it’s not good to lie.” Peter stepped away from Oliver and crossed his arms over his chest. 

“I’m not lying.” The boy stepped closer to Peter with a pleasing look on his face. “I just want to leave.” He whispered desperately to him. 

Peter stared at him but his attention was on something else when he heard his name being called down below. 

“Peter?!” Came Tony’s voice and he sounded mad. 

Peter walked towards the entrance of the tree house but when he looked out, the sky was completely dark. He fell onto his butt, feeling his heart start to race. 

It was daytime just seconds ago and now it was pitch black out. 

“Peter?” Called Tony again as he picked up Peter’s camera and looked up into the treehouse. 

Peter crawled away from the entrance and looked back towards where Oliver was standing but the boy was gone. A whimper escaped Peter’s lips as he crawled backwards until he bumped into the wall behind him. He looked around but Oliver wasn’t in there with him. 

“D-dad.” Peter called out but it was too quiet for Tony to hear all the way on the ground. He rubbed at his eyes to try and see if the sight would come back any different but it didn’t and that was when he noticed something. 

His hand scraped on the wooden ground and it came back in ashes. He looked closer, the best he could see in the dark and noticed that the whole inside of the treehouse was burnt, meaning he had climbed up into that burnt tree that he originally saw. 

Peter started screaming. 

He didn’t know what was wrong with him. He screamed and screamed and screamed… 

Peter finally stopped screaming when he heard his dad calling out for him again. He felt his entire body shaking from the fear and the cold. 

“Peter. I’m here. Just carefully climb back down.” Tony ordered him to do but Peter couldn’t move. He was paralyzed with fear. 

He tried to move forward to start climbing down the tree but he felt like his butt was glued onto the floor. Maybe he was dreaming. Maybe he was in a horrible nightmare that he couldn’t wake up from. 

He wanted to wake up though. 

Peter forced himself to stand up and moved towards the entrance, moving his feet bit by bit until he could look down at his dad. He didn’t even think he could climb down with how badly his hands were shaking. 

When he looked down, he saw his dad on the ground looking up at him but it couldn’t be real. None of it seemed real. 

He stepped forward and shut his eyes. Maybe if he just took another step forward then he would wake up from this horrible nightmare… 

“Peter! It’s dad, baby. I’m here. Just carefully climb down. I’m not mad at you, baby. Just come down.” Tony practically begged him. 

Peter opened his eyes and choked on another sob, wanting to be in his dad’s arms and not in this nightmare anymore. 

He carefully turned around so he could start his descent but it was a lot harder climbing down than it was to go up. Especially since his hands were shaking uncontrollably and he could barely see anything through the dark and the tears pouring out of his eyes. 

Peter didn’t realize how hard he had been crying until he got closer to the ground and felt his dad’s hands on his waist, lifting him up and setting his feet on the forest ground. 

Tony immediately pulled Peter into his arms to try and stop his son from crying. He was shaking like a leaf. 

Peter violently cried into his dad's chest, pulling and grasping desperately at his jacket. “I wanna wake up! I don-don’t wanna dream anymore. Daddy please!”

Tony kneeled down onto the cold, damp ground so he was at Peter’s height and held Peter’s face in his hands. “Peter. Look at me. You’re not dreaming. You’re awake. I’m here and this is all real.” 

Peter shook his head. He looked up at the tree and behind his dad at Oliver’s house but all the lights were off. “No! I-the… it’s not real. None of this is real.” 

He pulled away from Tony and squeezed his hands over the sides of his head. “I wanna wake up! I wanna wake up!” 

Tony stood up and lifted Peter into his arms to start walking back to the house. He didn’t have a good feeling being out in the middle of the forest so he wanted to get Peter home and calm him down. 

Peter weakly smacked at his dad’s chest before dissolving into hysterics. Tony didn’t know what else to do, he carried Peter home and into his bathroom then sat Peter on the counter to grab a wet cloth so he could wipe at his dirty face. 

“Peter. Are you with me?” He asked. Peter lifted his blank gaze up from the floor to look into his father's eyes but all Tony saw was complete dissociation. He wiped the cloth over his eyes and down the side of his face. “Peter. Daddy’s here, baby. What happened out there?” 

Peter seemed to snap out of it and sigh. “M’tired.” 

Tony weakly smiled as he lifted Peter off the bathroom counter and onto the floor. “I know. I’m gonna run you a quick bath to wash all the dirt and mud off and then you can sleep.” 

Less than five minutes later, Peter was in the bath so Tony grabbed all his dirty clothes and left the bathroom. He picked up his phone on the bed to call Pepper as he walked to the laundry room. 

She picked up on the third ring. “Hello?” 

“Peter’s acting weird.” He admitted quietly so Peter wouldn’t hear him even though he was down the long hallway. 

“What do you mean?” She asked. Tony knew that Pepper always freaked out whenever something was wrong with Peter but she seemed way too calm. 

Tony tossed the clothes into the basket and leaned against the wall. “He’s… he doesn’t seem himself. I don’t know. I got a bit carried away with work and then I realized that the house seemed pretty quiet so I went to go find Peter but he wasn’t inside the house. I got mad at him earlier so I started freaking out that he ran away and when I go to search for him, I find him in a like an old burnt tree in a treehouse that looked like it was on fire just hours ago.” 

“He’s a curious boy, Tony. That’s not the strangest thing that we’ve caught him doing.” 

Tony groaned because Pepper wasn’t here, she didn’t get it. “You don’t understand. He was screaming bloody murder when I found him and was freaking out, thinking that he’s in a dream or something.” 

“Well what made him freak out? Was it because you got mad at him before?” Pepper asked him but that had Tony groaning. 

“No. Pepper, it has nothing to do with that.” He looked towards the end of the hallway and sighed again. “I gotta go check up on him. He’s in the bath but can you call him tomorrow morning so he can talk to you? Maybe he needs that.” 

“I will.” With that, the phone call ended. 

Tony stood there staring at his phone for a few seconds just trying to process the strange phone call he just had. That wasn’t like Pepper to not care about Peter’s well being like that. 

Peter may not call her mom but she definitely played that role in his life and was there for him through it all so this was strange. 

He pocketed his phone for now and went to go check up on Peter. 

When he walked into the bathroom, he noticed that Peter was sitting in the exact same position that he left him in. Tony reached out and placed his hand on Peter’s shoulder but Peter flinched and looked up at him. 

“Oh. M’tired, dad. Can I get out now?” Peter asked him as he rubbed at his eyes. 

Tony sat down on the stool and grabbed a washcloth to wash the obvious dirt off of Peter’s arms. “You didn’t clean yourself up at all.” 

Peter looked over his shoulder, towards the door. That had Tony snapping his neck to see if there was anyone behind him. “What’re you looking at?” 

“Nothing. M’tired. Can I get out now?” 

Tony stilled his motions. “Are you feeling okay, bud? Did you get your head or anything?” He reached out to run a hand through his hair just to make sure but found no bumps. 

Peter looked up at him. “Are you mad at me?” 

“No. I’m not mad at you, Peter. I was just worried and scared that something happened to you.” He admitted and went back to cleaning the dirt off of Peter’s arms. 

“I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean to… I mean… the tree, it wasn’t burnt, well, it was but then Oliver said to follow him up and so I did-” 

“Wait. Oliver was there?” Tony didn’t want Peter hanging out with that kid again. He was a bad influence on Peter and every time something bad happened to Peter, he was always with Oliver. 

“Yeah. He wanted to show me the magic but… he told me something.” Peter looked down at the water and carefully ran his fingers over the top. 

“What did he tell you, Peter?” Tony asked, getting a bad feeling about this. 

Peter shrugged with a sigh. “He said he died. In a fire but that was so many years ago. I know he’s lying but… before when he slept over he was asking me all these questions about death and I didn’t like it.” 

Tony didn’t like that either. Oliver wasn’t someone he wanted to see around his kid again. “He’s not a very good boy, Peter, and I don’t want to see you hanging out with him again.” 

Peter nodded and rubbed at his eyes once again. “I think so too. Can I come out now? M’tired.” 

Tony stood up to grab a towel to wrap Peter in. He still couldn’t shake the odd feeling he felt deep down. 

Like something bad was just waiting to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How many times do I say I’m tired because I am exhausted! That’s all I say anymore but at the end of my day, I come home to edit this fic for you guys and im sooooo happy that you all like it so much:) I know I’m not responding to comments I just can’t find the time, but I read and appreciate every single one soooo much!! So thank you:)) 
> 
> One more chapter to go..... will Tony be able to save Peter?


	6. Love me till the day I die... maybe longer too

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sick!! On Halloween! How unfair!! I think I have a cold, hopefully not covid but I’m trying to get better before work on Monday and I’m also so tired like I can barely keep my eyes open as I’m writing this do I will nap :)) 
> 
> Enjoy:)) 
> 
> Happy Halloween!!!!

It was a weird night. 

First the thing that happened with Peter and then the phone call with Pepper who was acting so strange. 

Tony felt like he was the only sane person in the family right now. Peter was in the clouds and seemed so out of it while Pepper wasn’t acting herself. It was weird. 

He was having a hard time falling asleep. He somehow managed to get Peter to fall asleep in his own bed without a fight but he had thought that Peter would be showing his face and climbing into his bed to get some cuddles but it had been over two hours and no Peter. 

The kid was exhausted and ready to pass out by the time Tony had put him to bed but he was getting a bad feeling about something. 

Part of him tried to push the bad feeling down and just brush it off to the day that they had but another part of him, a stronger part of him wanted to go check on Peter just to make sure he was okay. 

Little did Tony know that Peter wasn’t in his bedroom and wasn’t even in the house. 

Peter managed to fall asleep for a little bit but he woke up to a strong urge he was getting. He rubbed his eyes and looked over at his iPad that was lighting up so he sat up to see why it was lighting up. 

He was surprised to see a text from Pepper at this time of night but even more surprised to see that she was texting him and telling him to go open the front door for her. 

Peter couldn’t contain his excitement. 

He missed her so much so he tossed the blankets off of him and left his bedroom to go open up the front door for her. He didn’t know why she was texting him instead of his dad or how he didn’t know about this before but none of that mattered now. 

Pepper was here and all he wanted was to hug her tightly and beg her to stop being mad at his dad so they could go back home and go back to the way their life used to be. 

He unlocked the front door and opened it up but he didn’t see her there. “Pepper?” 

Peter stepped outside into the cold, dark night and peeked around the corner. “Pepper? Where are you?” He ignored his freezing cold feet on the ground and walked further outside to see where she went. 

“Pepper. It’s cold.” He whimpered as a cold shiver ran through his body. “I’m scared, Pepper. I’m gonna go back inside-” 

As Peter went to turn around, the front door slammed shut, causing him to let out a scream. He ran towards the door to try and get it open again but it was locked and glued shut. “Dad. Dad! Help.” Peter weakly banged on the door, feeling like he had no strength. 

“Peter?” Came a gentle voice behind him. 

Peter turned around and saw Pepper standing there. She was dressed in a long white dress and her hair was down but it hadn’t looked like she brushed it in days. It was sticking up in every direction. 

“Pepper? Where were you?” Peter asked, stepping towards her but he hesitated. She looked… different, almost angry. 

“I was right here, honey. Take my hand.” She held out her hand for Peter to take but he didn’t cross the distance between the two to take it. 

He glanced back at his house. “I’m cold, Pepper. Open the door.” 

She smiled at him then started shaking her head. “Oh sweetie. You know I can’t do that. Come, I want to show you something.” 

Peter didn’t want to go anywhere but inside the house but he didn’t want to say no to Pepper so he started walking towards her with his hand outstretched in front of him. 

“Peter. What are you doing?” Tony asked as he opened the door. He didn’t expect to find Peter outside in the cold wearing nothing but his thin pyjamas. 

Peter snapped his head to look at his dad with his outstretched hand falling to his side. “Pepper said she wanted to show me something.” Peter explained then stepped aside to let his dad see her standing there but when he looked over, there was no one in front of him. 

He felt the air leave his body. No. No, not again. 

Tony rushed forward to bring Peter back inside. “Pepper isn’t here, Peter.” He grabbed Peter by the hand to bring him back inside but Peter pulled away from him and started to scream. “Peter. Calm down. You’re just over tired.” 

Peter didn’t stop screaming so Tony picked him up and brought him inside the house, shutting the door behind him and double checking that it was locked. 

“Shh, calm down, Peter.” Tony sat down on his bed once he got upstairs and tried to stand Peter in front of him. “Just breathe. It was just a dream, Peter.” 

Tony didn’t even believe himself. It seemed like so much more than a dream. Peter was wide awake when he first found him and although he was confused, he didn’t seem like he was sleep walking. 

He knows that Peter never sleep walks. Peter had never slept walked in his entire life. He would sometimes talk or even laugh in his sleep but never sleep walk and he never left the house in the middle of the night like that. 

Tony was so worried for his kid. Peter wasn’t acting like himself and he hasn’t for the past week. Something was seriously wrong and he was starting to get extremely worried about it. 

He gently shook Peter to try and get him to snap out of whatever state he was in. He had stopped screaming almost as soon as he had picked him up but he was whimpering and sadly hiccuping now. “Peter, look at me. Did you have a bad dream?” 

He wanted to ask Peter so many questions but nothing seemed to be processing in his mind right now. 

Tony picked Peter up and held him on his side as he rounded the bed to pick up his phone to call Pepper. He didn’t know what to do and needed her help with this. 

When he went to turn his phone on, he noticed that it was dead and that it hadn’t even been charging all night, the cable was unplugged from the wall. 

With a groan, he leaned down to plug the phone back in but now he had to wait for it to charge. Peter was lying his head on his shoulder and wrapping tiny arms around his neck. “Where did Pepper go?” 

Tony rubbed his back. “Pete, she’s in Manhattan. She’s not here.” Tony forgot to tell Peter that Pepper had flown back to Manhattan and was currently living back in the penthouse at the tower. 

Peter didn’t say anything. “She texted me… I went to go open the door for her.” 

Tony walked towards the door to shut it and turn the light off so he could try to put Peter back to sleep with him in his bed. “It was just a dream, Peter. She’s not here. Try to shut your eyes and go back to sleep. I’ll be here the whole time.” 

He was worried about Peter. He didn’t know what to do. 

.  
.  
.

Tony looked up from the kitchen table through the doorway to see Peter playing on the floor in the living room. He didn’t want to take his eyes off of him but he wanted to have a private conversation with Pepper. 

“Hey, Tony.” She answered, sounding a lot more lively than yesterday. 

“What the hell.” He said, not letting himself raise his voice. 

“Excuse me. What’s wrong with you.” Now she sounded mad but he didn’t care. He was mad at her. 

“After everything I told you last night and you don’t even care enough to give Peter a call. You said you would.” Tony was pissed. He shouldn’t have to push her to make an effort. 

“What? What are you talking about?” She asked, sounding extremely confused. 

“I called you last night and you said you’d call Peter today.” Tony explained to her. He had zero patience left. 

“What? Tony, you never called me last night.” 

Tony stared straight ahead, trying to remember exactly what happened last night and he knew for a fact that he spoke to her. “Stop. I called you and we spoke on the phone for like ten minutes.” 

“Are you okay? Maybe you haven’t been getting much sleep, Tony. How’s Peter doing?” She sounded extremely confused and concerned but Tony was bewildered. 

“No… I’ve, I’m getting sleep. I’m being serious, Pepper. I called you last night because I’m worried about Peter. He’s… he’s acting weird and he’s not himself.” Tony admitted to her, for the second time. 

“Is he okay? I’m worried, Tony. What’s going on with you two?” Tony could hear the worry in her voice and it sounded more like her, not like last night’s conversation. 

“He’s… dreaming while awake or something. I don’t-I don’t know.” Tony explained and went to explain more but the doorbell was ringing, causing him to groan. He assumed it was Oliver asking Peter to go out and play and now he had to go send the kid back home. “Someone’s at the door. It’s probably that strange kid from next door. I’ll call you back in a few minutes.” 

Tony hung the phone up and placed it on the counter to go answer the door. He looked at Peter who was watching him from the living room. “Keep playing with your legos, Pete.” 

He opened the door, surprised to see Oliver’s parents standing at the door. “Hi. Can I help you g-” 

Tony didn’t even have the chance to block the piece of metal that was being smashed against his head, knocking him to the floor unconscious. 

“Peter, baby?” Beth called out for him as she stepped over Tony’s unconscious body and walked into the house. 

Peter heard the bang so he stood up to go see what was going on but when he rounded the corner, he saw his dad lying on the ground with a gash on his forehead. He ran forward and dropped to his knees next to his dad. “No! Dad! Wake up.” 

Peter looked up at Oliver’s dad who was standing over them and holding a piece of metal in his hand. “You hurt him! Get away!” 

Oliver’s father, William, dropped the piece of metal and shook his head. “Oh Peter. It’s okay. We aren’t going to hurt you. Your father was only going to get in the way of things so we had to stop him.” 

Peter shook his head, feeling the tears start pouring from his eyes and his hands start to shake. “No! Go away. Don’t touch me.” 

Beth kneeled down and placed a hand on his back but it had Peter falling onto his butt and trying to crawl away from her backwards. “No! Get away.” 

He turned around and managed to stand on his feet so he could run away from Oliver’s parents but also leaving his dad in the process. He felt the adrenaline kick in as he ran away from the two monsters who hurt his dad and was now trying to hurt him. 

Peter didn’t even know where he was going. He wasn’t a fast runner but he was trying his best to get as far away from both of Oliver’s parents. He didn’t understand why they were trying to hurt him or what they were going to do with him. 

Peter kept looking behind him, seeing Beth chase after him but it didn’t even look like she was running. Peter went to look ahead again to see where he was going but he bumped into a dresser in the hallway and fell onto his knees. 

He scrambled to his feet, just in time before Beth caught up to him. The house was huge but he hadn’t explored it enough to know all the secret spots to hide in or to get away in. 

Just as he turned a corner, he spotted an open door and ran inside, slamming it behind him. He slowly backed away from the door and covered his hands over his mouth to keep quiet and stop the loud whimpers from escaping his lips. 

He saw a shadow pass under the door and felt his heart speed up. He didn’t want to get caught in fear of what was going to happen to them. 

Once the shadow was gone and he couldn’t hear anything, he uncovered his hands from his mouth and looked around the room to see where he could hide but he didn’t see anywhere to go. 

The room was small. It had two windows and two doors that were both closets. Peter tried not to freak out but he wanted his dad. He didn’t even know if his dad was alive and that thought terrified him. 

Peter rushed over to the window and tried to open it up but it seemed like it was locked from the outside. Even if he were to get it open, he didn’t know where he would go. 

A jump from this height would break his legs, along with probably ever other bone in his body. 

Just as he went to find a new way out, he heard the door opening behind him, causing him to start screaming. 

“No. No! Please. Don’t hurt me. Please! I wan’ my dad. I want my daddy.” Peter fell to his knees and held his arms out in front of him to weakly try to defend himself from the women. He knew he was no match for her. 

He had always been small for his age but she was already half his size. That didn’t mean he wasn’t still going to try to put up one hell of a fight. 

“Oh honey, I’m not going to hurt you. Why would I hurt you?” She shook her head fondly at him and went to lean down to pick him up when his dad’s words ran through his head. 

If someone ever tries to kidnap you and manages to pick you up, start screaming and wiggle around as much as possible in their hold. Then when they drop you, run like hell. 

Peter remembered what his dad said. They even went over it a few times with him trying to squirm out of his dad's arms. He was never able to but that didn’t mean he couldn’t now. He wasn’t going to hold back. 

As soon as Beth reached down to grab him, he kicked her straight in the face, causing her to stumble back a bit. He took that time to turn around to crawl away but she was grabbing his ankle and pulling him back towards her, lifting him up and into her arms in one motion. 

Peter tried to scream but there was no one around to hear him. 

He screamed anyways. 

The woman carried him out of the bedroom and down the hallway. Peter tried his best to squirm and wiggle out of her hold but it was no use. He was fighting a losing battle and quickly running out of energy. 

He stopped trying to fight his way out. He let Oliver’s mom carry him down the hallway but as soon as she rounded the corner to go downstairs, he saw his dad’s body lying on the floor and started to kick and squirm in her arms again. 

Maybe she wasn’t expecting it or maybe the adrenaline was kicking in again but she dropped him only since they were on the stairs, it had him tumbling down the hardwood stairs and landing hard at the bottom. 

Peter laid on the bottom. If it were any other situation, he would have cried until his dad came to comfort him and tell him that he was okay but he knew how hard he cried, his dad wouldn’t come to his rescue since he was currently lying on the ground only a few feet away from Peter. 

He felt hands on him and rolling him onto his back. 

“Is he okay? Any cuts or bruises?” Asked Beth as she raced down the stairs to meet her husband at the bottom who was already bent over Peter. 

“No. He’s okay but you gotta be more careful with him. We can’t damage his body.” William picked Peter up and held him in bridal style. “You know we might not get any other chances at bringing our boy back.” 

They stepped over Tony’s body as they began making their way outside and back towards their house. “I know. Plus he’s perfect for us. His face is so cute, we’re not letting this one get away from us. Not again.” 

Peter felt so weak and tired. 

His head was killing him but so was the rest of his body. He was aware that he was being carried outside but he didn’t know where he was going. 

When he looked up at the trees blowing in the wind, he felt tears run down the side of his face. He was so scared and didn’t know what was going to happen to him. 

Beth opened up the front door when they arrived at their house and walked in with her husband following behind him. “I already have his new clothes set out for him. He’s going to look so cute once we get him changed.” 

Peter tried to get out of Williams arms but he was already so weak and William was a lot stronger than him. Peter didn’t stand a chance. 

“Let’s bring him into his bedroom and get him ready.” Beth closed the curtains in the room and lit a candle while William laid him on the bed and walked around to grab the clothes. 

Peter rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up to leave but William was grabbing his feet and pulling him back onto the bed. “Oliver. Enough. You have to behave yourself.” 

“I’m not Oliver.” Peter looked up at the ceiling and cried. “Please. I want my dad. Just let m-me go. Please.” 

His pleading went unnoticed but that still didn’t stop Peter from crying even harder. He looked towards the door that was still open and saw Oliver standing there. Peter lifted a weak arm up to reach for him but he couldn’t see the boy for very long since the door was being shut. 

“I wanna-I wanna go home.” Peter told the two, knowing his crying wasn’t going to work but he had to try. “Please. I-I-I wan’ my dad.” 

Beth sat on the bed and cupped his cheeks. “Shh. It’ll all be over soon, sweet boy. We’re your parents. And we’re not going to let anything bad happen to you ever again.” 

Peter didn’t believe them because they were the ones doing the bad things to him and taking him away from his father. 

He felt tugging on his pants which had Peter immediately sitting up and trying to stop Oliver’s dad. “No! Get off me. Get off! S-stop it!” 

“Nothing to be afraid of.” Beth whispered in his ear and tried to lay him back down on the bed. Peter pushed her off and went to go kick the man away from him but it was already too late. He watched as his pants were thrown across the room and then William was pulling him forward and grabbing his arms to sit him up. “Stop being so rough with him, William.” 

Peter wasn’t able to stop his shirt from being pulled off of him but once it was, he felt extremely vulnerable and automatically shuffled closer to Beth, not knowing why he was seeking comfort from her when she was an equal part of this. 

“He’s still his son. He’s not our son yet, Elizabeth.” William told her then narrowed his eyes at Peter and walked around the other side of the bed to open up a drawer. Peter watched him with wide eyes, wondering what was going to happen next. 

William pulled out a dark blue shirt with a boat on the front and a pair of overalls with white shoes. Peter looked at the clothes. They looked extremely old but they looked his size. 

He already knew what was going to happen next before it did. William grabbed his ankles and pulled him towards himself. Peter tried to roll away again but then he was being picked up like a rag doll and held up to the man's face. “Enough! Lie still. I don’t care if you’re scared. Stop moving.” 

That had Peter going completely still, asides from his body shaking with his crying that he was trying so hard to hold in. He felt his legs lifting up and his feet being forced into the overalls so he avoided his eyes away and tried to imagine the clouds above him instead of the yellow stained ceiling. 

Once he was manhandled into clothes and the shoes, William picked him up and sat him on a chair in front of a vanity. He looked straight ahead into the mirror and looked into his eyes. 

He had red puffy, fearful eyes and blotchy cheeks from crying so hard. Peter didn’t look away from himself. He was too scared and needed his dad more than he had ever needed him in his entire life. 

William left the room after that and Beth walked up behind him with a brush to start combing his hair back. “Such a beautiful face. We’re so lucky to have you, Peter. Soon, you won’t have to be so scared anymore but just know that we aren’t going to hurt you. We wouldn’t do anything to risk harming your beautiful body.” 

Peter let out a sob. “I wan-want my daddy.” 

She hushed him and roughly turned his face to look at her, squeezing his cheeks painfully. “If he gets in the way, you see him shortly after you leave.” 

She let go of his face so he bought a hand up to rub the sharp pain away. He couldn’t contain the gut wrenching stop that left his mouth and ached for his dad. 

.  
.  
.

Tony woke up to a sharp, burning pain in his head. 

He slowly opened his eyes and sat up, feeling his head pound. When he brought a hand up to touch his forehead, it came back bloody and that’s when the memory of what happened came flooding back to him. 

Peter. PeterPeterPeterPeterPeter. 

Tony jumped to his feet, almost stumbling over as he tried to catch his balance and for his vision to clear. He raced into the living room where he last saw Peter but he wasn’t there. 

“Peter?” Tony called out for him, knowing that the front door was open and the house was freezing meaning that it had been open for quite some time. 

Tony walked into the kitchen to try and find his kid in there, possibly hiding for whatever reason. “Peter, baby? I’m here. Peter?” 

Tony raced out of the kitchen and upstairs to see where his kid was but part of him knew that Peter wasn’t inside the house. There was no way he was in there but he had to check. 

“Peter?! Where are you? Peter?!” Tony ran down the hallway, calling out for his kid. He stopped to look in his bedroom and Peter’s bedroom but he wasn’t in there and he wasn’t seeing any sign of struggle anywhere meaning that Peter was already gone. 

He didn’t know where he was but he had an idea on where to start looking. 

He felt like he was doing this again and again only this time, his kid was actually gone. Possibly kidnapped straight out of his home. 

Tony raced down the stairs and quickly shoved his shoes on then started running through the tall grass and forest, headed straight for Oliver’s house. If that was where they brought his kid then he was going to tear the whole house down trying to find him. 

Tony stopped running when he got onto the property so he could look around for Peter or any signs of him but there was nothing on the outside. 

He didn’t hesitate to walk up to the front door and opened it, not even bothering to knock. He didn’t care. He knew his kid was in there. 

Tony slowly shut the front door so he didn’t make any noise. He started walking into the house, looking around for Peter or any sign of him or anyone else. 

He couldn’t hear any voices which scared him because if he didn’t find Peter here, he didn’t know where he could possibly be. 

The stairs were right in front of him so he went to go look up there first. When he got to the top, he turned the corner and saw Oliver standing there, looking extremely traumatized as compared to how he usually looked which was lifeless. 

“Is my kid here?” Tony asked, barely above a whisper. 

Oliver lifted an arm up and pointed down the hallway. 

As Tony went to go walk in that direction, Oliver spoke up. “They’ll kill you. They only want him.” 

Tony didn’t respond but those two short sentences ran a shiver up his spine. He didn’t know why these crazy parents took his kid, they already had a child of their own so why would they want his child? 

He still didn’t hear any voices but that didn’t stop him from moving forward to find his son. When he turned another corner, he saw an open door and peeked inside, practically melting with relief when he saw his son. 

Tony walked into the room and stepped towards Peter who was sitting on a vanity stool, dressed in new clothes and had his hair combed back. “Peter.” 

Peter snapped his head to look at him and bursted into tears at seeing his dad. He stood up and held his arms out for the man. “Daddy. M’scared. I wanna go home.” 

Tony covered Peter’s mouth with his hand so he wouldn’t give away that he was inside the house. “Shh. I know, we’re gonna go home right now.” 

Peter shook his head. “Not-not back to the house. I wan-wanna go home to the penthouse.” 

Tony nodded and pulled Peter against his chest. “I know. We’re going to get out of here but we have to get to the car first.” 

Peter shoved his face further into his dad’s chest to quiet the whimper that threatened to leave. Tony reached into his pockets for his phone, cursing when he remembered he left it on the table in the kitchen back at the house. 

“Fuck. Okay, um.” Tony looked around the room, trying to figure out what to do next. It was too risky to leave the bedroom but they couldn’t stay there. He needed to get Peter the hell out of that house. 

Peter shoved the tip of his thumb into his mouth to chew on the nail, feeling like he could barely breathe with how scared he was but also feeling a lot better now that his dad was with him. 

“Don’t talk. We’re gonna quietly leave the room and move as quickly but as quiet as possible.” Tony whispered to Peter and moved to hold onto his hand. 

He looked outside the bedroom but didn’t see anyone in the hallway so he pulled Peter along. Tony felt like his heart beat was going to give them away with how fast and loud it was beating. 

He had no idea what these people planned on doing and he didn’t want to find out. 

They got to the stairs and went to walk down it. Tony could see the front door right there but he saw William turning the corner and heading up the stairs with a glass bottle in his hand so Tony practically picked Peter up to run in the opposite direction. 

Peter covered his hands over his mouth again, trying to be as quiet as possible but it was almost impossible with the fear of what might happen to them. 

Tony opened up a door and went inside, shutting it behind him and gently placing Peter on his feet, pushing Peter behind him. He couldn’t see what kind of room they were in since the only light was the dim light coming in from under the door. 

Peter let out a quiet sob so Tony quickly covered a hand over his mouth to get him to be quiet, knowing how scared Peter was. 

There was a shadow walking under the door, passing by on the other side but then Peter let out another sob and the door was being ripped open. 

William looked extremely surprised to see Tony standing there. Tony used that surprise to catch the man off guard and punch him in the face, causing William to stumble back a few feet and raise a hand up to his mouth. 

Tony grabbed Peter’s arm, pulling him out of the closet that they were in and running in the direction that they came in but they were stopped at the end of the hallway by Beth who looked pissed as hell. 

“Let go of my kid. Get your hands off of him!” She screamed and went to reach forward to grab onto Peter but Tony tugged him back, too filled with adrenaline to even feel bad for pulling Peter around like a rag doll. 

“He’s not your fucking kid.” Tony would never hit a girl, but if this woman laid her hands on his kid and even tried to take Peter away from him again, he was going to kill her. 

Peter sank down onto the floor and started crying while still holding onto his dad’s hand. He knew they weren’t going to get out of the house because Beth had said to him before that she wouldn’t ever let him leave. 

“Peter. Honey.” Beth's face softened. “Come with me.” 

Tony pulled Peter up to his feet and took a step towards the stairs but then there was a cloth being placed over his mouth and nose, causing him to let go of Peter’s hand and his vision to go blurry. 

He heard Peter start screaming but his screams were getting further and further away. Tony wasn’t sure if he was being taken away from Peter or if Peter was being taken away from him. 

Tony woke up with a huge inhale. 

He looked around the room with wide eyes and spotted Peter lying on the ground in front of him, crying. Tony went to stand up to go comfort him but his hand pulled him back. 

The sound of metal hitting metal caused him to turn his head around, seeing that he was handcuffed to the fireplace bars. He tried to yank his hand away but nothing happened. 

Tony turned back around to look at Peter. “Peter. I’m here. It’s okay. Are you hurt?” 

Peter sat up and rubbed at his eyes. “N-no. I wan-I wanna go home. Please, daddy. I’m scared. I’m so scared.” 

Tony’s heart shattered into a million pieces. He couldn’t do anything to comfort his kid and that was killing him. He was failing as a father because he got Peter into this mess. 

This was all on him. He shouldn’t have ever dragged Peter up to the middle of nowhere after his breakup with Pepper. The signs were all there from the start and he did nothing about it. 

“I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry. It’s gonna be okay though. I promise you that.” Tony wanted to believe his own words but he was having a hard time doing that. Peter deserved so much more than this. 

No child deserved this. 

“Peter. Look at me. You need to get out of here. Run. I’ll be okay. Just keep running until you find help and never come back.” Tony begged him. He needed Peter to leave and never ever come back. Not even for him. “Go Peter. Stand up and run.” 

Peter looked up at him with red eyes and shook his head. “I can’t.” 

Tony shook his own head and tugged on the chains harder. “Please, baby. I love you so much but you have to. You have to.” 

Peter didn’t answer. 

There were footsteps coming from down the hall so Tony looked over and saw both parents walking into the room. Beth held her hand out for Peter. 

“Come, Peter. It’s time to go now.” Peter hesitated so Beth stepped closer to him and leaned down. “Remember what we talked about? You’re dad is going to go away now but if you want to go with him then you need to come with me.” 

Peter looked up at her. “And I’ll be with daddy forever?” 

Beth pressed both hands over Peter’s face and smiled warmly. “Forever and ever. You guys will never be apart where you’re going.” 

Tony shook his head, trying so hard to get the words out. “No. No. No! Peter, don’t go. Don’t you dare go with her! You run, run Peter!” 

Peter took Beth's offered hand and stood up, giving one last glance at Tony before disappearing down the hall. 

Tony screamed. 

William paced in front of him before taking a seat on a chair. “If only you would have believed him.” 

Tony stopped to look at him. “Let my son go. You sick fucking bastard. I’ll kill you. If you fucking hurt my kid! I’ll fucking kill you.” 

William shook his head. “I already felt like I died. That’s the difference between the living and the dead. The living can feel like they’re dead after something tragic happens. Something tragic like losing a child. Have you ever lost a child, Tony?” 

Tony stared at him. 

“I didn’t think so. You don’t have… that look in your eyes.” William gestured with his hands. “You know, that look that you see in every parents eye after they had to bury their child. It’s no longer full of light, of hope. Perhaps they look like the dead, right?” 

“You’re fucking sick.” Tony spat at him. He didn’t know what the man was going on about but if he even laid his hands on his kid, he was a dead man. 

“I feel fucking dead. Although, I used to.” He stood up to start pacing in front of Tony again. “Do you have any idea what it feels like to bury your child? The kid that you raised and were supposed to have forever with. To watch grow up into the beautiful little human they were always meant to be? To have that ripped away from you.” 

Tony didn’t say anything. It was now clear to him that this man lost a child. He didn’t know why he wanted him to feel the same way with Peter though. Peter didn’t do anything wrong. 

“Well I do. I had to watch my baby die right in front of me while he screamed and cried and begged for me to help him. I was too late though. Of course, I didn’t even get a chance to try because it was already too late.” William walked towards a lit candle on the table and picked up a match to light it from the flame. 

“I felt like I died the day my son died. I couldn’t find it in me to live anymore. Days went by and then weeks and months but then, something amazing happened.” He put the match down and walked towards the chair again. 

“My son came back to us. At first, we thought we were crazy. We thought our grief was so powerful that it was causing us to see our dead son but he never left. He talked to us, played games with us, we even got to give him a bath and put him to bed. Although he never slept. Never ate, ever drank.” 

William looked down. “In fact, he couldn’t even go past the wooden fence. How is that fair? How are we supposed to raise our son like that? You know, for the first year, it was fine, we were happy to have our son back. We slowly rebuilt our home,” He gestured to the house around them. “we rebuilt our life with our son but something was missing. Maybe it was the fact that we couldn’t truly hold him like we used to. Or take care of him like a parent should, we knew the problem was that he needed to have an actual body to live in. To feel alive.” 

Tony listened to the man. He sounded crazy but he didn’t want to interrupt him right now. 

William continued. “Oliver’s a beautiful kid. He shares the same looks from his mother and I but… Peter’s a beautiful kid too.” 

Tony wasn’t believing anything that William was saying because it was crazy but what he was getting at was that Beth and him were trying to kill his kid. 

“No! Stop! I swear to fucking god, you hurt my kid and I will rip your fucking head off!” Tony screamed and tugged against the cuffs but they didn’t budge. He felt powerless. 

William shook his head. “It’ll be too late for that. The thing is, after a lot of trial and error, Elizabeth and I learned that the boy needs to be killed on the property in order for Oliver to go into his body. If we do it beyond the wooden fence then it won’t work. We learnt that mistake.” 

So they’ve done this to other little boys, Tony thought and felt sick. They were actually going to kill his kid. 

He remembered Peter telling him how Oliver couldn’t go past the wooden fence and now it was all starting to make sense. 

“I wish you would have believed him,” William repeated. “When Peter told you this place was magic, it’s because it is. It brought our baby boy back to us and now it’s going to let our Oliver live a normal life.” 

Tony shook his head, wanting to vomit. “You sick fuck! I’ll kill you! Don’t hurt my kid-” 

“No.” William cut him off. “We can’t hurt him, Tony. That’s the whole point. We won’t be hurting his body. Now, Oliver tried to do it himself a few times but he’s just a child. We shouldn’t have put that pressure on him like that. That’s why Beth is taking him out to the stream now. It’ll be quick and beautiful.” 

Tony yanked on the cuffs as hard as he could until they ripped out from the wall but they didn’t. “Stop. Please. That’s my son. That’s my baby.” 

Tony saw the first look of regret in the man’s eyes so he continued to beg for his son's life. “He’s just a child. He just turned eleven. He doesn’t deserve this. Look, I know you lost your son and I am so so sorry for your loss. I can’t even begin to imagine what you are going through but… Oliver’s gone. He’s gone and Peter isn’t. Don’t do this. Please. I’m begging you. Just let us go and we’ll never come back here.” 

William looked hesitant. “No. It’s too late. It’s been so long. I need- I need to hold something real. Something alive. Oliver is… he’s gone. I know he is and like you said, Peter isn’t. He’s warm and real and alive and I want to have that again.” 

Tony was so desperate. He couldn’t let these people kill his kid. “Please. Please don’t. He’s a child. You can’t.” 

William stood up. “After we’re done, you can be with Peter again. Just don’t go past the wooden fence.” 

Tony watched William leave the room and started to scream, begging him to not hurt his kid but it was up to Tony now to save Peter. 

.  
.  
.

Peter held onto Beth’s hand as they walked outside in the cold, through the forest and towards the stream. 

Peter was scared but he was promised he was going to be with his dad again soon and that brought him some comfort. 

He turned to look behind him, seeing no one following them out. Part of him wanted to see his dad behind him, coming to save him but he knew he was chained up. “Where’re we goin’?” Peter asked her, shivering in the cold. 

He was wearing a thin shirt with no jacket to cover himself up. Beth had put on a thick jacket so she was warm. “I told you already.” 

Peter looked behind them again. “I know. I’m cold though. It’s cold out and I don’t have any jackets on.” He looked up at her as she tugged him along. 

“Shh, sweet boy. You won’t be cold for much longer.” Beth led him through the grass, holding his hand with a tight grip. “I need you to remember everything that I told you, if you don’t do as I say, you’ll never see your dad again.” 

Peter whimpered. He would listen to her. He didn’t want to risk not seeing his dad again. 

They walked towards the steam and since the sun was starting to set, it caused a bit of fog to form over the stream of water. Beth kneeled down in front of it and pulled Peter down next to her. 

“I know this is scary for you. I can’t imagine everything that is running through your young mind but it’ll all be over soon. We just have to wait now.” 

Peter shivered again and nodded but he wanted to know how much longer they were going to be waiting here for. “What are we waiting for?” 

“William of course. He’ll want to be here for this.” Beth explained to him and then they sat in silence for the rest of the time. Peter was ready to cry because of how cold he was without anything to keep him warm but then he looked over and saw William behind them. 

“Are we ready now?” He asked. Beth smiled at him and pulled Peter to his feet, letting go of his hand. William walked towards Peter and picked him up, hugging his body close to him for a few moments. 

Despite the man causing him so much pain and fear, Peter cuddled against his warm body, desperate for some kind of comfort, any comfort he could get. 

He felt William start to walk forward but he kept his eyes shut. As he continued to walk, Peter felt his feet getting wet and cold and then his pants. His eyes shot open and looked down to see that William was walking into the freezing cold stream and bringing Peter with him. 

“No. Stop.” Peter struggled to get out of his hold but the water was hitting his stomach now, causing him to gasp. “Cold. Too cold. Please. I don’t like it. I want out.” 

William placed a hand on the back of his head. “Shh. It’s okay. We have to. We need to be able to hold our son again.” 

Peter didn’t understand what was happening. He shook his head and smacked the man’s chest, trying to get him to put him down but before Peter even realized what was happening, he was being pushed under the water. 

He trashed in the water, fighting to get to the surface to take in a breath of air but the cold water was slowing his struggles. 

Peter got a flashback back to when he was being held under the bath water in his bathroom but that time, his dad was there to save him. 

Inside the house, Tony pulled with all the energy he had left in him and this time, the chains broke off of his wrist, freeing him. 

Tony didn’t waste any time. Not when his kid's life was in his hands. He knew where to go so he raced outside of the house and towards the stream of water. What he saw made his heart drop into his stomach and bile race up his throat but he had to keep moving. 

He could see William drowning his kid as Peter kicked and trashed under the water. Tony felt sick. 

He felt like he was running for years by the time he made it to the water. Tony didn’t hesitate to jump into the freezing cold water, not having time to let himself adjust as he kicked William in the face and reached down into the water to lift Peter up. 

Tony barely had time to get Peter out of the water and on the other side of the stream because William recovered fast from the kick to the face and charged at Tony, running at him and landing on top of him in the muddy grass. 

Tony was pinned under the man but his attention was focused on Peter and the fact that Peter was struggling to catch his breath because he was coughing up so much water. 

William punched him in the face which had Tony’s attention back on the man. He lifted his arms up to block his next punch and head butted him, using that force to roll the man off of him and straddling his body. 

“I told you I’d kill you for that.” Tony stressed out as he wrapped his hands around the man’s neck and pressed hard, finding satisfaction in Williams' face going blank and him struggling for air. 

Tony spared a glance over at Peter who pushed himself up onto his hands and knees and was looking over at him while still coughing up water. 

His hands immediately unwrapped from around the man’s neck. 

He wasn’t going to let Peter watch him kill somebody. Even if that man had just tried to kill his son and most likely wasn’t going to stop. 

In one motion, Tony got off of the man and stood up to pick Peter up so they could get the hell out of there. Beth was making her way towards Peter, going around the stream instead of through it so Tony got to Peter first. 

He lifted him up by one arm and started running towards their house so he could grab the car keys and get the hell out of there. 

Tony knew Peter had no energy to run after almost drowning and the fact that he was freezing cold and in risk of getting hypothermia the longer he stayed in his freezing wet clothes so he half dragged half carried Peter into the house. 

Once they got inside, he slammed the front door behind them and double locked it. They didn’t have much time so he made a split decision, get Peter changed and dried or grab the keys and make a run for it to the car. 

Since he was running on pure adrenaline and a fight or flight instincts, he wanted to get out of there as fast as possible so he picked Peter back up and carried him into the kitchen to find where he last placed his keys. 

There was banging on the front door and the sound of the doorknob juggling but Tony ignored that for now. He stood Peter up on his feet so he had more freedom to find where he placed his keys. 

“Fuck! I can’t fucking find them.” Tony threw a bowl of fruit across the room and looked over at Peter. He was shivering and his lips were practically blue. “Come. You need to get out of those clothes.” 

Tony tried to stop his hands from shaking but he couldn’t. His shoes and bottom of his pants were soaking wet as well but he wasn’t worried about that right now. He needed to get Peter warm. 

By chance, Tony found his keys on the table by the entrance so he picked them up, feeling relief wash over them but it wasn’t over yet. He went to go upstairs, pulling Peter along but he heard glass smashing, coming from the back door. 

Peter let out a whimper and lifted his arms up to him, desperate for some kind of warmth and comfort. Tony froze. The last thing they needed right now was for them to play another game of hide and seek in the house, only this time for it to end with Peter possibly getting hurt. 

Tony made the decision to keep Peter in his wet clothes and get into the car. He just had to get off the property and then hopefully everything will be okay. 

Tony picked Peter up, holding with him one arm on his hip and pulling his keys back out of his pocket with his free hand. There was no way to check if someone was outside the front door so he just went for it, opening it up and waiting for someone to jump out at him. 

When no one did, Tony made a dash for the car, repeatedly holding the keys up to get it unlocked. When he got to it, he opened up the drivers door, jumping in and lifting Peter onto the passenger seat, pressing the lock button five times. 

His hands were shaking so much so when he went to put the keys in the ignition, it took him three tries. “Fuck fuck fuck.” 

Peter whimpered and pulled his knees to his chest. He wasn’t allowed in the front seat but he didn’t have it in him to care right now. 

Tony put the car in reverse and started to drive but the car wasn’t going anywhere and was driving bumpy. “No. No no no. Fuck. No.” He smacked the steering wheel. This was their only way to safety. Fuck. 

Tony opened up the car door to go double check it was what he thought it was but as soon as he left, Peter screamed for him. “No! Daddy no! Don’t leave me!” 

“I’m not leaving you, baby.” He checked the tires, seeing that they were slashed and now the car was useless so they had to go. “Come here.” 

Peter crawled over to him and held his arms out. “What’s wrong?” 

Tony picked Peter up and out of the car, setting him on his feet. “They slashed the tires.” Tony looked around, trying to see anyone but he didn’t and that scared him even more. He wished he knew where they were. 

“But how will we leave?” Peter asked, looking around. The sun had set a long time ago so they could barely see anything in the dark now. Both an advantage and disadvantage. 

Tony looked towards the long driveway and decided to make a run for it with Peter down there. He grabbed Peter’s arm and started running towards the road that he couldn’t even see from where they were. 

The two of them began running and then William was jumping out in front of them, blood dripping down the side of his face. Tony grabbed Peter and shoved his kid behind him. “Stay away from him. He’s just a child. Please.” Tony begged the grieving father. He didn’t want to sympathize with him. 

“I can’t keep living like this. I want something real to hold.” William took a step closer to Tony but Tony was stepping back with Peter behind him, trying to keep him away from the monster standing in front of them. 

In hindsight, he should have been watching behind him for the monster that was there. 

He felt Peter squeeze his hand extremely hard and then heard the blood curtailing scream that followed. 

When Tony turned around, he first saw Oliver standing there with a bloody knife in his hand and him staring at Peter. Tony felt his blood boil. He looked down at Peter, feeling his hand slip out of his own and then he was dropping onto the ground. 

Tony fell to his knees with him, feeling his heart ready to explode from his chest. 

“No. No. Peter. Baby, hold on. It’s okay. Peter.” Tony grabbed onto his face and shook him a bit to stop his son's eyes from rolling back, to keep him awake. To keep him alive. 

Tony placed both hands on the blood pouring out of Peter’s stomach where the knife went through him but he was also aware of the blood pouring out of him from the back, staining the ground. 

“No. Please. Peter, baby. Hold on. Hold on, baby.” Tony lifted Peter’s body into his arms, knowing that every second counted. He turned to look at William who looked like he was losing his own son all over again. “Please. I need to get him to a hospital. I need your car.” 

William continued to stare, frozen on the spot. 

Tony felt so helpless. His child, his baby was dying in his arms. 

Oliver stepped over to him and grabbed onto Peter’s pale hand with his own. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to do it but my parents weren’t going to stop. It’ll be okay. You’ll soon be like me.” 

Tony pulled Peter away from Oliver and started running towards the house, terrified and having no idea what to do. He was still trying to process everything but his brain was having a hard time keeping up. 

“Don’t let him die beyond the wooden fence! You’ll never see him again if you do!” Yelled Oliver’s father right as Tony ran into his house and into the living room so he could call an ambulance. 

He placed Peter onto the carpet, laying him down as gently as possible and got onto his knees next to him so he could make the call. 

Peter held a weak hand up to his father. “Daddy… don’-don’t wanna l-leave you. M’sorry. Don’ let me go ‘way.” 

Tony dropped his phone onto his lap and leaned over Peter as he clung onto life. “No. You’re not going anywhere, baby. Promise me you’ll stay here. Promise me. I-I’m not letting anything bad happen to you. Okay? We’ll have that movie night together that we promised. Do you remember?” 

Peter gave a weak smile but it didn’t last long before he started coughing up blood. Tony’s heart practically stopped beating at the sight. “I-I’m scared. M’so scared, daddy.” 

The tears poured down Tony’s face. He pressed a bunch of kisses onto Peter’s face and reached out to hold his hand. “I love you, baby. I love you so much. I need you to know that.” 

Maybe it was at that point that Tony knew Peter wasn’t going to make it. 

Even if an ambulance could have gotten to them fast enough, there was no guarantee that they would have been able to save Peter. 

So he decided to hold his kid that he loved more than life itself. He wanted to hold him as he took his last breaths and comfort him like he always did, from the nightmares to the scraped knees, he held Peter, whispering into his ear how much he loves him and hoped so badly that he would see Peter again. 

Peter opened his eyes and tried to reach up to hold Tony’s face. “Love you, daddy.” 

With that, Tony watched Peter’s eyes shut and felt him go limp in his arms. 

He had never cried so hard in his entire life, never begged whatever entity there was out there to save his child and bring him back to him. 

Tony didn’t know how long he held Peter’s lifeless and cold body for. Maybe it was hours, possibly minutes, but he heard the floor creak behind him and turned around to see Oliver standing there with his parents. 

“Now you’re one of us. It’s okay. You’ll see your son again.” Beth said, wrapping an arm around Oliver’s chest and bringing the boy closer to her. 

“But first, you have to bring him with you to bury his body.” William walked towards Tony on the floor and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I am so sorry for your loss. I know what it’s like but you have to bury his body if you want to see him again.” 

Tony wanted to scream at them. 

He wanted to throw the man onto the floor and punch his face into the ground until there was nothing left of it but… he didn’t. He couldn’t. Nothing mattered anymore. He just wanted to see his kid. He wanted to hear his laugh and hold him. 

That’s why Tony picked up Peter’s now cold body, hating the silence. He walked past the family and walked outside into the cold, damp night and headed towards the oak tree where he always found Peter playing under. 

It was the hardest thing he's ever had to do. 

Nothing could possibly come close to compare how he felt. His child was gone. He wasn’t able to save his baby and he would have to live with that for the rest of his life. 

If this didn’t work… 

Tony covered up the last of the grave with the damp soil with dirt covering his shaky hands and violently sobbed. 

If this worked, if he got to see his baby again, he would never leave. If that’s what it took to be able to see Peter everyday… he would do it. In the blink of an eye. 

Tony walked into his house and shut the door behind him. He kicked off his shoes and made his way into the kitchen in a trance like state to wash the dirt off his hands. 

He couldn’t stop himself from looking around, desperately wanting to see Peter but he didn’t. 

After he was done in the kitchen, he heard his phone ringing so he walked into the living room to see who was called and when he saw it was Pepper, he put the phone back down. 

No matter what happens now, he’s never leaving. Not when there is a chance he’ll get to spend forever with his kid again. 

Tony heard the floor creak behind him again, spinning around to see who it was. When he saw Peter standing in the doorway, he couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his face. 

“Daddy?” 

Alive or not, it was Peter and he was never leaving if Peter couldn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh!! Did I actually just write a fic where Peter dies.... yes I did. Omg I don’t know how to feel about that ending, it makes me so sad and incomplete but it’s a spooky fic so happy Halloween! 
> 
> Haha I’m just joking! I wrote two endings for this fic,,, I originally wrote the other ending but then I was like wait..... I have this other idea..... soooo if you guys aren’t satisfied with this ending like I am, keep a look out because I will be posting an alternative ending in a few hours:)))) 
> 
> Otherwise, tell me what you think:) 
> 
> Aldo do you guys have any Halloween plans? I was going to eat chocolate that I bought a week ago and saved for today but I’m sick:( hopefully I’ll be better tmr


	7. Alternative ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! The alternative ending, it’s super short and you can see where it leads off too so enjoy:)))

Tony picked Peter up and out of the car, setting him on his feet. “They slashed the tires.” Tony looked around, trying to see anyone but he didn’t and that scared him even more. He wished he knew where they were. 

“But how will we leave?” Peter asked, looking around. The sun had set a long time ago so they could barely see anything in the dark now. Both an advantage and disadvantage. 

Tony was already pulling Peter along, starting to run towards the road, down the long driveway. “We have to keep moving. When we get to the road, we’ll wave down a car to help us.” 

Peter held onto his dad’s hand, letting him pull him along but he felt so weak and it was hard for him to keep moving. He just wanted to go to sleep. 

“Dad?” Peter called out to him, barely able to catch his breath now. “Dad? I-I can’t. Tired.” 

Tony could barely see anything in the dark. He was looking around him like a hawk, getting ready to punch whoever came near Peter. He looked back at the house, the light getting further and further away the further they went. 

Peter almost tripped so Tony pulled him back up, he could now see the gate at the end of the property and tried to pick up the speed but Peter tripped again. “We’re almost there, baby.” 

Peter coughed. “O-okay.” 

Tony pulled Peter up again but just as they were a few steps away from safety, Oliver walked out of the forest beside the driveway and stood in front of the gate. 

Tony stopped, pulling Peter to his side. He looked at the boy, finding it hard to believe that the child he was looking at was in fact dead. “I’m sorry, kid. I really am. I-I don’t know how hard it must be for you, not being able to… live. But you can’t have my kid. You gotta let us go.” 

Oliver looked at Peter and frowned, showing more emotion on his face than Tony had ever seen from him. “You can’t ever come back. They’ll-they’ll kill you both. I know I can’t ever leave but… I’m okay with that now. You can’t come back. Never again.” 

Tony turned around, expecting to see one of Oliver’s parents there but there was still no one behind them. He tugged Peter along and ran past the gates. 

Peter looked back to see Oliver standing behind the wooden fence, waving at him so Peter offered a quick wave back to him. 

He was pulled along the dark empty road by his dad and continued to run. Peter didn’t know how much more longer he could go on for, he felt like he was going to collapse. “Dad. I-I can’t. Too tired.” 

Tony knew this road was quiet. Barely anyone ever drove along it in the middle of the day, never mind the night time so he didn’t know how much luck they were going to have. 

He looked behind them again because even though Oliver couldn’t leave, that might not stop his parents from coming after them and taking Peter back. 

“Daddy. Please. I’m so tired.” Peter begged him, stopping in place and wanting to fall to the ground but Tony held him up. 

“Don’t fall asleep, Peter. We’re almost there. Just a little bit longer-” Tony stopped and looked up ahead at the road. He heard the sound of a car before he saw the lights and when he did, he grabbed onto Peter’s hand and started waving down the car. 

He was aware that they were in the dark so the car might not see them or even stop for them but the car slammed on its breaks. Tony wasn’t going to let them leave. 

He picked Peter up while holding out his hand in a pleading manner. “Please. My kid. These people are trying to kill him. You have to help us. Please. Please.” He walked around to the drivers window and saw that it was a young girl, maybe in her early to mid twenties. 

She looked like she had just seen a ghost which had Tony looking behind him again. He looked back at her and saw her staring at Peter in his arms. “Please. He’s only eleven and they-they tried to drown him. I need to get him dry before hypothermia kicks in.” 

The girl shook her head and then started nodding it aggressively. “Okay. Okay. Get in. Get inside.” 

Tony didn’t hesitate to pick Peter up and carry him over to the passenger side, climbing in and pulling Peter onto his lap, wrapping his arms around him after pressing the lock on the door a bunch of times. 

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” Tony couldn’t show just how thankful he was. He knew Peter only had minutes left before he dropped from the cold. He was still at risk for that. 

The girl did a u-turn and started going in the direction where she came from which was towards the city. “I’m Uh, I’m gonna drive to the hospital. Are-are you hurt?” 

Tony’s hands were shaking uncontrollably. He probably needed stitches on his forehead but he wasn’t worried about himself right now. 

“No. My kid… I need to get him warm.” Tony rubbed Peter’s body, trying to get some warmth in him but he still needed to get the clothes off. 

“There’s a blanket in the back. Two actually. The hospital is fifteen minutes away.” The young girl had said and looked over at Peter who was looking at her. “You’re gonna be okay. My name’s Allison. What’s yours?” 

Peter moved closer to his dad. “Peter. I-I’m cold.” 

She smiled at him and pressed the gas a little bit harder. “We’re almost there.” 

Tony grabbed the blankets and started to pull the buttons off of the overalls. Once he got that off, he pulled Peter’s shirt off and aimed the car heaters at him. “Stand up so I can get these off, baby.” 

Peter shook his head against him. “Tired.” 

“No. Not yet. Open your eyes.” Tony placed his hands under Peter’s armpits and forced him to stand in front of him so he could tug the wet overalls off of him, struggling from it sticking to his skin and the fact that Peter felt falling back onto his lap. 

Once the wet clothes were off, Tony wrapped both blankets around his body and pulled Peter tightly against his chest, hoping that he could warm Peter up with his body heat. 

Tony pressed a kiss to the side of Peter’s temple, continuing to rub a hand up and down his back to get him to warm up. He looked out the window and saw the city lights up ahead. 

They did it. 

They were out. 

Tony didn’t care what they left behind at the house, they weren’t ever going back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and simple but in this ending Tony saves Peter. I personally like this ending a lot better for obvious reasons:) 
> 
> I appreciate all of your comments soooo sooo much! I will try my best to get back to them tmr when I’m hopefully feeling better! 
> 
> Happy Halloween!!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys liked the first chapter! It wasn’t too scary and it’s actually super hard to write scary stuff because I can’t have any jump scares like a movie does do I tried to make it more creepy although I only wrote this fic at night times after work and I always scared myself while writing in the dark hahaha


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